Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Heretic follows Sister Barnes, played by Sophie Thatcher, and Sister Paxton, played by Chloe East. They are two missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a mission to convert Mr. Reed, a man played by Hugh Grant who has shown interest in being converted to their religion. Barnes, implied to be the senior missionary, has already converted multiple people to her denomination and hopes to help Paxton achieve her first baptism. However, Mr. Reed’s religious beliefs aren’t what they expect. In fact, his lecture to them on his beliefs on religion turns into a cat-and-mouse game that challenges their own faith and leaves them struggling to survive.
While the tension is high for most of the movie, it starts out as just Mr. Reed conversing with the two missionaries about religion in general – not just Mormonism. Although the posters and trailers provide the image that Reed might be a typical bad guy who traps them in his house and tries to kill them, which is accurate, he also turns out to be more interested in theology than they are. He studied it in college and tells them that it is his primary goal to determine the “one true religion”, which he works on revealing to them throughout the course of his game. In his lecturing of religion, he uses the media to create analogies with religion to explain his beliefs. I think this is clever and works for the most part, as he explains why there are multiple iterations of one faith, but Reed brings up so many analogies that it starts to feel redundant and that some of these comparisons are stretches.
About halfway into the movie, the energy starts to shift as it turns from a simple lecture on faith and theology, into a game of survival for the two missionaries whilst having their beliefs challenged. The first half of the film is intense, but once we start to realize what the real game actually is, the suspense kicks up a notch. This can be attributed to the score, but also how eerie the environment becomes. Once they start making a real effort to leave the house, the horror that fans are looking for kicks in. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that Mr. Reed is trying to get in their heads and harm them, but he eventually offers them a questionable way to exit the house, and then the sense of fear becomes more evident within them.
The film doesn’t really say anything complex about religion, as Mr. Reed does test the ethics behind it and shows how manipulative it can be towards members of its faith, but the way he tests the girls with their faith is what makes the movie so interesting. He constantly asks the question of: do you only believe in what you believe in because your faith forces you to? It’s a simple question, but the fear that Mr. Reed instills in them makes it feel like he is forcing them to change their beliefs, which could parallel the fear of an afterlife due to one’s denomination, which would influence their beliefs. You can see the differences between the two sisters. Barnes has a tendency to stick to her beliefs from Mormonism more than Sister Paxton, who is more naive. It feels as if Mr. Reed is playing the role of a God or religious leader, who in his eyes, would be corrupt or immoral.
Because the film mainly revolves around three main characters, it helps that Mr. Reed is a fantastic villain. He is well-written, and his logic is very flawed, which makes him even better. It becomes easy for Barnes and Paxton to determine when he is lying to and deceiving them. His character is also elevated by Hugh Grant’s performance, who seems like he is having fun playing him, and commands every scene. Thatcher and East both hold their own, but Hugh Grant is the star of the show here.
What brings this movie down is that the ending is somewhat unfulfilling. A lot of secrets and unknown aspects of the game are revealed, but overall, we still don’t know what Mr. Reed’s complete purpose was. Sure, he wants to enlighten them on what he thinks about religion and test the legitimacy of their beliefs, but why does he put them through this brutal and sadistic game? It also feels as if some other plot lines and ideas are half-baked. For example, we see Elder Kennedy of the church, played by Topher Grace, looking for them. He eventually reaches Mr. Reed’s house, but not much happens with him. He’s just used as a plot device and his character could’ve been explored more, especially since he has a different position within the church. Also, with Mormonism being as unique of a denomination as it is, these unique aspects are not utilized in the film. It feels like if Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton were missionaries of a different denomination, it wouldn’t change much even though Mr. Reed describes Mormonism as a weird and zany iteration of other religions.
Another major flaw of the film is the fact that it shoves its themes down the viewers throat, especially towards the end as the mystery of the game starts to be revealed. It’s a given that it’s not going to be subtle at all, since Mr. Reed is a know-it-all theology connoisseur who likes to lecture them, but the big reveals are just used as a way to remind the viewer of what it’s trying to say. The film starts to abandon its show-don’t-tell style of storytelling in the second half of the film.
Despite its flaws, Heretic works as an entertaining and thought-provoking psychological horror film. It’s suspenseful and the cinematography creates an unsettling atmosphere that will have viewers engaged for the entire runtime. It’s also bolstered by great performances and good writing that makes these character dynamics work. In a year where indie horror films turn out to be the most successful and well-received, I think this will stand out as one of the better ones released.
Rating: 7.5/10
