Recently, I saw the movie Heretic and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It’s been a while since I’ve left a theatre really pondering the theme of a movie, and of course, it was an A24 film to do it for me.
Starring Hugh Grant, the film follows Mr. Reed, a crazed reclusive man (Grant), who entraps two Mormon missionaries in his house for a messed up game of cat-and-mouse while entertaining the question of “What is the one true religion?” This film is not short of creativity, although locking brainwashed women in cages oddly doesn’t feel that new. This film had me reflecting on what the movie’s message was truly about days after, as the tagline for this movie is literally, “Question everything.”
What initially excites me the most about this movie is the fact that it is a religious horror. To me, there aren’t a lot of movies in this genre that hold up, even though there are a lot of them out there. Most films typically end with a demon supernatural element being revealed that somehow is supposed to tie up all the loose ends. So, brief shoutout to The Conjuring and The Exorcist but right now I’m here to talk about Grant being absolutely diabolical onscreen.
Before getting into the main takeaways, I’m going to break down some elements and notable points about the film that I believe contribute to what makes Heretic such a fascinating experience to watch.
The Background on Heretic
This movie has an original plot (a rarity nowadays on the big screen) and was directed and written by American filmmaking duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, also known as “Beck/Woods.” This movie is (to me, surprisingly) rated R for bloody violence, and is also labelled as a horror and thriller. As someone who enjoys a good horror movie despite hiding behind a pillow the whole time, I would definitely say that this movie gives off more thriller-focused energy despite delving into both genres.
Title
So what does “Heretic” mean anyway? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word “heretic” means either “a person who differs in opinion from established religious dogma,” or “a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who refuses to acknowledge or accept a revealed truth,” or “one who differs in opinion from an accepted belief or doctrine.” Essentially, someone who has different beliefs from the rest of the group/majority. This is important because firstly, duh it’s literally the name of the film, and secondly, it sums up a large theme in the movie. I think the theme would be, “What you believe is what you believe,” so a title focusing on religious opinions seems well-placed in this regard.
Filming
The trailer for this movie was a bit misleading—and aren’t they always? My assumptions led me to believe that this film was going to be a typical horror with a lot of jump scares, unsettling body horror shots and accompanied by an eerie soundtrack. However, much to my surprise, this film seemed to belong more so to the psychological thriller genre, especially with moments such as when Mr. Reed quickly goes from chill to ambiguously evil.
As for the actual filming locations, part of the filming was during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike which meant that the filmmakers had to get special permission to film in Vancouver and Squamish B.C. at this time.
Hugh Grant
Type-cast for many years as the rom-com love interest it’s been super exciting to see Grant break into more dramatic roles in recent years. Grant has spoken out about his experience going from romantic lead to villain, saying, “It’s fun for actors. And it’s also always interesting and magnetic for audiences. They’re always drawn to the bad guy rather than the dreary goody two-shoes lead.” And I have to say I agree! His role was absolutely captivating on screen, and I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the movie as much had it not been for his acting. According to Screenrant, this film has already made it into Hugh Grant’s top 5 best-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes, with a current score of 95%.
The Movie
Immediately I appreciated this movie’s limited cast. There are three main characters in the film, Mr. Reed, Sister Paxton (Chloe East), and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher). A handful of other characters are there, but they have very minimal involvement or screen time overall. Personally, I find that these limitations raise the stakes because it creates this sense of dread that something bad is going to happen, and raises the question of “Who gets to make it out alive?” Spoiler: one of these Sisters starts strong and the other finishes strong.
I feel like a lot of movies out there bite off more than they can chew when it comes to niche themes. They start strong and then drop off when they realize they don’t know where to take it. This is a letdown every time I encounter it. So while Heretic is by no means the perfect religious horror investigation, it does a pretty impressive job of supporting its claims (Get Free, who?) and spinning extensive monologues into something actually cohesive.
Personally, what I love about a good thriller is when it makes you rethink events that have already happened on screen. Just like in Shutter Island with Leonardo DiCaprio, details about what is truly going on versus what has been depicted to you (as the viewer) are always exciting to me. It keeps me on my toes in a different sense than a typical jump-scare horror and in many ways I find it—you guessed it—thrilling.
I will say if I had to choose a favourite between the first and second half of the movie, I would easily choose the first half since I am a natural psychological thriller fan, and the second half slides more towards horror. I also am of the belief that if I had one major critique of the film is that the second half, while attempting to smartly answer the theological question it raises, falls short in some aspects. Thankfully, there are some great actors on screen and tense scenes to help the shortcoming fade away.
Fun Fact: The music playing during the end credits of the movie is a rendition of “Knocking on Heavens Door” set to the tune of “Fade into You” by Mazzy Star. A nod to the fact that “Creep” by Radiohead is a melody reiteration of “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies, mentioned earlier in the movie by Grant’s character!
The Takeaway Message
*Spoiler warning*
So if I haven’t already spoiled pieces of this movie, I’m really going to do that now. The takeaway message plus my own opinions about it are to follow, so if you want to watch the film and make up your mind by yourself before reading my opinion then call it quits here.
The main message via Hugh Grant, ahem I mean Mr. Reed, has been trying to reveal all along is: Control is the ultimate religion. This movie discusses how there are iterations upon iterations of things such as board games or pop songs, and if you look at our world right now, you can find even more examples in movies! Movie remakes are everywhere, and taking on Mr. Reed’s logic: is the true one the first one recorded, the most popular one, or the thing they have in common? It all depends on what you believe.
So, with that, I’ve rambled on for far too long about a movie that is sure to have its fans and foes. I definitely think that you should take the time to see this movie in theatres or once it’s on a streaming platform, and until then, what do you believe?
