Heretic

Religious horror is one of the least interesting subgenres in horror for me. That's not to say there can't be good movies -- The Omen, for instance, is great -- but by and large, the majority of horror movies where religion is a central element come down to demonic possession, Satanic influence, or a cult. There's not a lot of innovation in the space. So when I saw the trailer for Heretic (in front of Maxxxine, and the trailer turned out better than the movie it preceded), I was intrigued. A religious horror movie that didn't seem so much about the religion but about belief and faith, and how those two can clash not only with each other, but with objective analysis, is different. It promises something more cerebral. But by the time it came out, I was nervous. The horror community had declared 2024 an excellent year for horror, and up to this point, I've found it anything but. It pleases me to report that Heretic is, finally, the one movie that delivered. And over-delivered, in fact. Heretic's basic premise, which is all I'll give here because I want the movie's secrets to unfold for you as they did for me, is about Mr. Reed (played by Hugh Grant) who has agreed to see two Mormon missionaries under the auspices of discussing what the church has to offer. What starts off as a genial if presumptive probing of the missionaries' beliefs becomes a cat-and-mouse game about how belief is formed, and how deeply it is rooted when faced with contradictory objective fact, and whether the absence of belief is in and of itself a belief. One of the keys I think to Heretic's success is never taking a stand on the debate central to the movie. Mr. Reed makes a compelling case for how the major religions of the world (and even some ancient ones) all have ties to the same archetypal myth, but not only does it ever frame him as absolutely right, he is a condescending, manipulative ass that cherry-picks what works for his arguments and discards the rest. The missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), by contrast, are devout in their beliefs, albeit in different ways; Paxton was born into the church and can't even fathom of not believing anything else and would rather smooth over the arguments than challenge them, and Barnes is a convert who seems like she has some doubts, but wants to believe in something. Neither are presented as naive or pushy, but both also fall back on their beliefs without much more behind them than devoutness and unquestioning faith. Although Mr. Reed is clearly the antagonist here, the movie doesn't take a stance on the actual debate. Nobody is wrong for what they believe; it's what they do with their belief that is drives the story here. Heretic uses that to build a horror movie that is almost entirely cerebral in intention. Yes, there's a couple jump scares (well used, really) and a couple moments of blood, but they aren't the driving force behind the horror. Heretic wants the viewer unsettled, always on the back foot, questioning both the intentions of Mr.Reed and whether the Sisters can figure him out and get out of the situation. 90% of the movie takes place in Mr. Reed's house, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere that works in tandem with Mr. Reed's amoral intellectual nature to create a constant feeling of being on the back foot. Mr. Reed's position -- that belief is a thing inflicted upon people because they're told to and can be manipulated easily because of it with the right conditions -- is terrifying to both believers and non-believers alike; for the former, he is arrogant atheism metastasized and weaponized, punishing believers for the "crime" of putting belief in something they can't prove. For non-believers, he is the worst representation of the search for objective truth, someone who has rejected all beliefs but believes absolutely anyway, and has committed to using his rigid dogma of being anti-faith to tear down the faith of others because he doesn't -- won't, or even can't -- understand that faith, by definition, isn't about proof. Even though his historical knowledge is vast and, from a factual standpoint correct, he has turned it into that which he seems to have a grudge against. What makes Mr. Reed so compelling as a villain is the performance by Hugh Grant. His disarming, affable charm that worked so well as a love interest in a dozen rom-coms is turned inside out here. His kindly, befuddled exterior hides a sinister, calculating malevolence. I never would've guessed the goofy Prime Minister from Love Actually was capable of being a sociopathic mastermind, I wouldn't have believed it, but Grant's performance here is outstanding. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East more than hold up their end, too, with nuanced performances that both nail dead-on. Thatcher's character was not born into LDS; she was a mid-life convert, and she has a trauma in her past that works with the belief by both pulling her close to it because she wants to believe, and giving her some doubt because her belief comes from a place of WANTING to believe and not just feeling it naturally. Curiously, though, she is the more argumentative one with Reed, debating him point for point and willing to do whatever it takes to get out. Reed's character, meanwhile, was born into the church, it's all she knows, so doubt is not only not possible, it's inconceivable. For her, belief is a feeling that has always residing in her, there's no need to think about it, and questioning it is absurd, even when faced with something that challenges her beliefs. But that means she didn't come into it having to learn it like her compatriot, so she isn't as learned about her own faith, so she isn't willing to push back. She just wants to live and let live. This creates an interesting dynamic; Sister Barnes is willing to fight for her beliefs because, in a way, they're all she has, whereas Sister Paxton is more willing to surrender to her faith and believe God will lead her out. And all of this is underscored by perfect direction. There are some odd angles and shots, but they're intentional, chosen to keep you the viewer on your toes and as disoriented as the protagonists. The Sisters are not framed as in distress because they're women or being exploited or mocked for their beliefs, but because they're caught flat-footed by someone who has planned for this and accounted for every variable. Mr. Reed is a compelling villain because he is so well-mannered and proper and charming and it hides a cruel inner self, not because he's physically imposing. The direction never betrays this, maintaining the atmosphere of this being a game of horrific human chess. You don't have to be a theology major to appreciate Heretic, and you don't need a strong stomach. This movie is all about atmosphere and exploring its themes without judgment. True believers and non-believers alike can watch this and get something out of it. It is, by a wide margin, my favorite horror movie of 2024 as of now, and I don't see that being topped in the future.