Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have been busy in the horror genre since writing the screenplay for John Krasinski’s mega-hit, A Quiet Place. The duo shifted over to directing on the underrated 2019 Shudder exclusive Haunt, followed by the Adam Driver-led dinosaur thriller, 65.
Now, the two have teamed up with A24, a company that has come to rely on its generally strong horror films to release Heretic. The new psychological religious horror flick stars Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets, The Boogeyman), Chloe East (The Wolf of Snow Hollow), and Hugh Grant, who surprisingly makes a return to horror for the first time since appearing in 1988’s The Lair of the White Worm.
Heretic follows Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes (East and Thatcher), two Mormon missionaries spending their day following up on possible leads from people who may be interested in converting to Mormonism. As a storm brews, and they come to the end of their list, the two knock on the door of Mr. Reed (Grant), who they didn’t know is somewhat of a theological historian.
Mr. Reed invites the Sisters inside under the false pretenses of wanting to learn more about Mormonism, but the conversation quickly goes south as he not only questions Mormon beliefs, but religion as a whole to the women. Stunned, the two Sisters decide to leave Mr. Reed’s home, but swiftly learn they have fallen into the trap of a religious psychopath.
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Hugh Grant is spine-chilling and diabolical in his role as Mr. Reed. For an actor who has built a career on playing goofy rom-com charmers, to see him morph into such a high-horsing, manipulative villain adds a whole new level of depth. It’s reminiscent of seeing Harrison Ford as a murderer in What Lies Beneath or Robin Williams as a creep in One Hour Photo. It’s like seeing a horse swimming in the middle of the ocean. You wonder how it got there, and you feel uneasy about it.
Grant’s ability to draw the audience in with his precise, engaging articulation and captivating dialogue is a huge reason he’s had such a massively successful career. Charm is a stone’s throw away from manipulation, and Grant seamlessly weaves between the two in Heretic. He’s so excellent at making the viewer believe that he’s a decent person, that even after a plethora of red flags, part of me still believed his intentions may not have been malicious.
While Sophie Thatcher does a great job of playing her usual cool and collected self, I would have loved to see a little more character development from her, especially since the story started to scratch the surface of her past and her beliefs.
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There was a level of vulnerability starting to reveal itself in her character that I’ve only really seen in her Yellowjackets role, and at this point, she’s starting to rack up the horror credits. I can’t wait to see what she does alongside Jack Quaid in Drew Hancock’s Companion next year.
It was Chloe East who stole the show on the other side, though, as she did phenomenal work showcasing the forced transition from the awkwardly sheltered life that sometimes comes with Mormonism, to an all-out survivor.
While Heretic’s premise didn’t necessarily feel unique from the initial reactions of the trailer, it does a great job staying away from the “good vs. evil” or “Christianity vs. Satan” storylines that most religious horrors turn towards.
The film questions the authenticity of all religions, without necessarily dunking on one specifically. Listening to the characters debate, and especially Grant’s ideals is a back-and-forth game of the viewer saying, “Wow, this guy is nuts… but he’s also kind of right.”
One of the biggest contributors to the film’s horrific atmosphere is Mr. Reed’s house. It’s a labyrinth of leaky, rotted, puzzle pieces that are intelligently constructed to confuse, pressure, and frighten anyone caught inside it. It made me feel like the characters were entering a musty, dripping rat trap, without the comforting reward of cheese at the end.
The directors made the setting work for them. Every dark corner and shadow could have someone watching. Every creaky door could lead toward never escaping. Every noisy floorboard could tell the villain where to look.
All of this was amplified and accompanied perfectly by Chris Bacon’s intense score. Bacon collaborated with Beck and Woods on 65, worked with Danny Elfman on Netflix’s Wednesday, and wrote the music for Bates Motel. He’s no stranger to horror.
Overall, While I feel Heretic could have benefitted from a tad more character depth (and maybe a few more surprising Topher Grace cameo scenes), the acting, storyline, music, setting, and atmosphere created all the pieces to make it one of 2024’s best horror films.
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