Finally, a movie that captures a truly visceral aspect of all-too-real horror: going on a first date with a second-year philosophy student.
I jest, mostly. But Heretic, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is certainly a horror that leaps into the deep end of theology, philosophy, and the general sense of being ranted at by someone who’s spend too much time going down a Wiki rabbithole for their own good. Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher star as LDS missionaries who stop by the house of the mysterious Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), only to discover that his intentions for them go far beyond a cursory flick through the introductory pamphlet – rather, he wants to get to the bottom of the truth about religion.
And, speaking of these actors, let’s be honest here: they’re the highlights of Heretic, by a long shot. Hugh Grant absoloutely shines in this darker role, flipping his trademark boyish charm around in this hideously subversive way that matches black humour, genuine curiosity, and a frightening God complex that demands obedience. I love a horror villain who’s driven by a specific purpose, and pulling on one as abstract as knowledge is tough to get right, but Grant’s energy is spot-on, playful and thrilled to be sharing his passion with someone – it just so happens his passion is for grotesque pseudo-religious philosophical torture.
And he’s matched with ease by Thatcher and East, especially the latter, who find fantastic nuance in these two young women. The slow burn of the first act of the movie, as the two women start to have their doubts about Reed but try to push them aside for the sake of furthering their religious goals, is perfect – you can see that tension, see the ways that their instincts are screaming at them to get out, but the ways their upbringing and religious doctrine insists on acting against them.
In fact, it’s that first section of the film that works best for me, because it’s so intensely focused on the slow build of tension and terror as the reality of the situation starts to unfold. I love the direction, I love the way these performances play off each other, and I love how Beck and Woods find ways to keep the movie from getting caught up in the theological weeds. But that said…
It’s not that I don’t like the final act of Heretic. It’s just that, for a movie that is so completely built around philosophy and theology, I expected the end result we reached to be a little more…dense? Meaningful? Perhaps the point of Heretic is that Reed’s conclusion – that religion is about control – is weak and somewhat obvious, but the film builds to it, and when we get there, it falls pretty flat for me. Part of it is the writing – there’s a point where characters are basically just monologuing Wikipedia pages at each other, and it’s hard to feel that it’s coming from a place of real emotion when it seems so bland and workmanlike.
And, for a film focused around two young women in the famously-misogynistic LDS church, I expected to see Heretic delve a lot deeper into how their experiences tied in to this idea of control – women so often bear the brunt of the control that religion exerts, and, while the film skirts up to the edge of this idea a few times, it never really gets into the meat of it in a satisfying way. There are enough disparate pieces here that it seems kind of odd for a film as blatant about its themes as Heretic is not to get the gender issue in this topic in a more meaningful way.
But, regardless of a dip into pretension in the final act, Heretic is still a pretty damn good time. Hugh Grant shines playing utterly against type, and an interesting premise and handsome direction keep things engaging enough to see things through to the end. If you can stomach a bit of overwriting and a few missed opportunities, it’s a rewarding, if not entirely heavenly, entry into this year’s horror canon.
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By Lou MacGregor
(header image via Hollywood Reporter
No But Listen 