‘Heretic’ Movie Review – Spotlight Report
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic is a horror film that doesn’t take itself all that seriously, but that asks you some serious questions.
Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) are young Mormon missionaries making their way through their assigned neighbourhood when they knock on the door of Mister Reed (Hugh Grant), a charming man who seems genuinely interested in talking about religion. After becoming entranced with the discussion, they discover that they can’t leave the property and that their host is even more interested in challenging their beliefs than he seemed.
Heretic is a deeply funny movie, thanks almost entirely to what must be the best performance of Hugh Grant’s career. Grant plays Reed as his usual quizzical, slightly bumbling sort of character who is so charmingly lighthearted about deeply serious topics that he is impossible for his young, curious guests to resist. They are so wrapped up in his self-effacing patter and the prospect of winning the argument that by the time they’ve figured out he’s trapped them, it’s far too late. Grant maintains this charm even when his actions become unspeakable, turning from avuncular to absolutely psychopathic with consummate skill. It’s almost a shame he’s so good, because East and Thatcher are also incredible in their roles, and their chemistry with Grant makes his performance even more enjoyable.
To say the film doesn’t take itself too seriously isn’t entirely accurate as, when the real horror begins, it doesn’t spare anything in terms of violence or gore. What it does, though, is to signpost things incredibly obviously. This is completely intentional as it is playing with you the exact game Reed is playing with Paxton and Barnes. Reed is keen on deconstructing religion by pointing out that all religions are iterations on each other through very funny lectures on the history of pop-culture ephemera. Beck and Woods are letting you know they think you, a horror fan, can spot things just like Barnes and Paxton do.
Right from the beginning, with an ad on the back of a bench that says “size matters”, the film is forcing you to keep an eye on things that might be referenced later. This creates a little ironic distance from the subject matter that pushes the film into unusual tonal territory. Beck and Woods let you know that they know you’ll be dissatisfied with conveniently stupid characters like most other horrors, so they make the dialogue of the film distractingly clever (just like Reed) and you feel like you’re going to “beat” it the same way Paxton and Barnes feel they can beat Reed. As it turns out, there are no easy answers, and maybe there isn’t really any “winning” that isn’t just an illusion to make you feel comfortable about the sheer horror of being.
The drawback of this approach is that the film feels like a bit too nudge-in-the-ribs at times, and so the horror elements feel a little contrived and not really very scary. That said, it is one of the most relentlessly entertaining horrors out there, and joins The Substance and Speak No Evil as real highlights of 2024’s Halloween season, even though all three have flawed endings. Horror buffs will get a kick out of the film speaking their language, and both sides of the religious debate will feel well represented. That said, the usual warnings apply for sensitive viewers, and as funny as Heretic is, it definitely isn’t for the squeamish.
If you don’t mind having your buttons pushed and you can stand to watch Hugh Grant being the most charming monster ever for nearly two hours, Heretic is an experience you’ll enjoy having at the cinema. The mix of screams and laughter at our screening certainly made seeing it at the cinema a hoot.
