Heretic(2024)(Review)

Everybody knows about the Mormons – the missionaries who make a point to travel from place to place, asking people if they have time to discuss their beliefs in hopes of saving/converting non-followers. What we have here is a new movie by the team of Beck & Woods (writers of ‘A Quiet Place’ & ’65’, directors of ‘Haunt’) that takes this simplistic idea and flips the narrative.

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are two young missionaries who are doing their daily duties. Over the course of the day they are ignored, rudely dismissed, publicly humiliated at a point, and are sort of having light debates about their own beliefs of the church – one is more “all-in” while the other was sort of raised in it. When they get to one of their final houses of the day, the door is opened by Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), a charistmatic, kindly man who is more than excited for this conversation. He is already knowledgeable on the religion (arguably more-so than they even are), as well as every other religion through history. His life long mission has been to discover the “one true religion”, and he believes he’s figured it out. So when the sisters enter the home and are told his wife is home (where a woman must be present in order for them to enter in the first place), he insists his wife is in the kitchen baking a blueberry pie and will be out shortly. They have awkward conversations, and we eventually discover that they are not allowed to leave the home through the front door – they must leave through the back door. But of course, this won’t be a simple task.

Mr. Reed has an agenda and a point to make – it taps into the subconscious joke almost of “imagine if the missionaries come to my door wanting to convert me, and instead I do the same thing right back to them.” He is aggressive, brilliant, and is impossible to 100% understand.

The majority of the script & story is about theology, derivative narratives, interpretations, and of course belief. The sisters are not pushovers however, so this isn’t such a one-sided fight as you may assume out the gate. The story turns into a rollercoaster of unpredictable twists and turns that lead to a conclusion that feels almost like an epiphany for the characters and the audience together.

It feels sort of like ‘Barbarian’ with it’s unpredictability and tight spaces, mixed with something like ‘Zeitgeist’. Even when you think you know what’s going to happen (and how), it still does some clever things to toy with you. It’s a complicated film that I’m still having a hard time putting my finger on. It’s a film I liked, and ultimately don’t have any notes as to how they could have made it better than it is, but I didn’t exactly love it either.

Much like the dilemma at the crux of the story, this is a complicated algorithm that involves bits of violence, creepy set designs, theological exercises, and God complexes of both small and larger natures.
The acting is the absolute highlight here – everybody involved is amazing, empathetic, and believable. And there’s a very small cameo that made me fist pump when I saw the name in the credits (you’ll know it when you see it) – it’s inconsequential, so it’s just sort of a fun part that really could have been played by anybody, but I raised my eyebrow when I saw the face and thought to myself “don’t I know you?”

It’s certainly a well-made effort and is a good way to spark some uncomfortable conversations, but if you are non-malleable with your personal religious/spiritual insights, this may end up being more of a triggering point than an entertaining experience. So, approach with caution, but 9/10 people should have little problems. It isn’t exactly pummeling with it’s dissection on beliefs, sort of playing it safe with it’s approach so it doesn’t come off as a bashing of sorts, but it does force the audience to play along.

3.5/5
“Heretic” is currently playing in theaters.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra

The Gruesome Gazette

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