Heretic (2024) review

Dir. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

Given the fact that their rise to fame in the horror world was thanks to a film that cruelly punished folks for speaking at an audible level, you’d be forgiven if you weren’t aware just how gifted filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are when it comes to writing snappy, thought-provoking dialog. The Quad Cities duo behind A Quiet Place further complement a year defined by some memorable horror features with Heretic, a surprisingly smart psychological thriller that puts us in the shoes of two Mormon missionaries who find themselves trapped in the home of a loquacious recluse with religious skepticism on his mind.

That setup alone sounds like Dante’s tenth circle of Hell, particularly for women who have had enough mansplaining for their entire existence. Heretic stars Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, respectively. They’re two young Mormon missionaries who are assigned the thankless task of knocking on doors with hopes of finding someone interested in hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Already forced to endure cracks about “magic underwear” and South Park, the two at least have one another. Sister Barnes has a bit more street-smarts compared to Sister Preston’s heart-on-sleeve innocence, but the two are diplomatic and persistent. You need to be in that line of work.

The two happen upon the home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) at the start of a brutal snowstorm. Mr. Reed has expressed interest in learning about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and eagerly invites the two women into his home with the promise that his wife is making a blueberry pie. Casual conversation turns intellectual, with Mr. Reed probing the women about the strength of their beliefs and the idea of “one true religion.” The excitement of the sisters drains rapidly as they realize they might’ve unintentionally allowed themselves to become prisoners in what Mr. Reed calls his “sanctuary.”

Mr. Reed’s sanctuary is an ornate maze of neatly manicured rooms and miniatures. Sister Barnes and Sister Preston might’ve entered the home with the intent to convert Mr. Reed, but it’s Mr. Reed who intends to convert these women into non-believers via analogies to The Hollies’ song “The Air That I Breathe” as well as the game of Monopoly and its many spinoffs. It’s all part of a game the man plays with these women; the longer it goes, the more they find themselves stuck in a labyrinth-like home with many doors and narrow hallways.

Sporting Jeffrey Dahmer glasses with all the arrogance of Richard Dawkins, Hugh Grant shines in Heretic. His incandescent charm is weaponized in a way that lures the sisters into his home only to reveal itself as controlled menace over the course of a long winter night. Grant is as funny as he is wicked, as Beck and Woods give him some of the film’s funniest lines, such as his impression of Radiohead’s song “Creep,” or his casual, off-handed remarks in the middle of a full-blown sermon.

Dare I say, Beck and Woods’ dialog is Tarantino-esque in the way that it is given time to breathe, therein developing its trifecta of characters. Heretic opens with East’s Sister Preston monologuing about watching an amateur “porno-graphy” video and feeling secondhand shame and embarrassment for the female performer. More than just showing the Mormon perspective of craving the salvation of another party, the scene tells us a lot about the two central females. Sister Preston sounds like someone who has never heard of pornography as she describes the gonzo video while Thatcher’s Sister Barnes looks on with feelings of disgust, intrigue, and confusion all communicated through facial expressions.

Thatcher and East play polar opposites, but both are lovely throughout. Beck and Woods smartly write these women as intelligent enough to recognize the potential danger they’re in pretty early. They gingerly interact with Mr. Reed and his home, and carefully choose their words and decisions the longer his “game” goes on. This isn’t the first “nice” man they’ve encountered, and they suspiciously entertain his diatribes while pondering where this could be going.

Being that the bulk of Heretic is set in a home rife with nooks and long hallways — save for some stray scenes involving a blonde, bespectacled Topher Grace as an elder Mormon — it presents a challenge for cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon to stage. He’s up to the task. Some of Chung-hoon’s best work comes when his camera zeroes-in on facial close-ups of his characters. These intense shots start to have a chokehold on you, as you’re bound by their laser-focus coupled with Mr. Reed’s endless intellectual musings. There’s one I’d like to see again just to confirm or deny my suspicions that a tinge of motion blur was added to a particular close-up of Grant’s face. That one felt more disquieting than others.

Heretic does two things that are uncommon for many mainstream horror films. The first is provide a simple, logical explanation as to why the innocent parties’ phones do not work (and it has nothing to do with the raging blizzard). The second is sidestep jump-scares entirely. There isn’t a one. Consider A Quiet Place, which by the virtue of its plot loaned itself to moments that made the audience jolt. Heretic is cut from a different cloth, predicated upon good old-fashioned tension and dread.

A lot about Beck and Woods’ latest chiller is rooted in old-fashioned sentiment. It’s not here to court the teen audience with diluted material to snag a PG-13 rating. It’s R-rated, but not vulgar nor gratuitously bloody. Its psychological aspects are rooted in thought-provoking monologues delivered with conviction by its small cast of performers. Its aesthetics enhance the increasingly uneasy mood. On almost every level, Heretic delights like the smell of fresh blueberry pie.

Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, and Topher Grace. Directed by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.