Beck and Woods’ exploration of religious belief and control owes more than a little to their past work, but strong performances from Sophie Thatcher and Hugh Grant makes this release from A24 a must-see.
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ work as genre filmmakers. The duo were responsible for the story for the original 2018 A QUIET PLACE as well the co-writers for the script that created the atmosphere and tension that made that film a success. They also wrote and directed the 2019 slasher film HAUNT about a group of friends trying to escape an “extreme” haunted house run by a disaffected cult of self-made freaks. HAUNT was one of my favorite horror films of 2019 which succeeded in large part due to the interweave of the strongly written character in the protagonist and the film’s escape room meets psychological horror concept.
Beck and Woods’ latest, Heretic, which hits theaters on Friday November 8th, is successful for the same reason. In many ways, it’s largely a remix of HAUNT with religious themes supplanting the “haunted house” motif, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The overlay of religious fervor vs religious terror this film explores is more interesting and appealing to a wider sect of people than the haunted house theme, which largely appeals to a hardcore horror/slasher fan. Heretic is a much more engaging and interesting film than Haunt, due to some career best work from Hugh Grant and an exceptionally great set of performances from Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher and actress Chloe East. The first act of the film plays like a chamber drama to a degree, exploring some interesting angles on religion and the reason humans look for faith-based reassurance before the film makes more of a turn into traditional horror. As a whole the film is one of the year’s most engaging in the horror genre, but it’s success is due moreso to the film’s strong performances.
Thatcher and East star as two LDS missionaries, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, who are visiting with people in the area who have asked for more information on the Mormon religion. One of the people is a Mr. Reed, played here with fiendish aplomb by Hugh Grant. With some charming cajoling, Reed talks the girls into his home to discuss the Book of Mormon, of which he has a heavily annotated copy, to discuss with the girls. Thatcher’s Barnes has an unspoken history in her performance, not unlike Katie Stevens’ Harper in HAUNT, that informs her performance. She is knowledgeable about the Mormon religion, but a bit world-weary, as if the events that led her to her faith were not easy ones. East’s Paxton is more bubbly, she hasn’t faced as much hardship in her life as Barnes, and her demeanor reflects that. On its surface, that leads us to think that Barnes is the film’s protagonist, but the film keeps us as the audience guessing throughout. Without trying to spoil events, Grant’s Reed is not quite what he seems and through a series of sometimes intriguing and genuinely funny analogies, drops the shroud to reveal he is there to test the girl’s faith as he has found the one true religion and if they want to leave his home, they have to see it as well.
It is here that HERETIC largely becomes the overlay of HAUNT that I discussed earlier. Reed’s home is an elaborate puzzle he controls and there’s only one exit that is not what you hope to power you through. I do think that had I not seen this film previously, I would be more impressed by Heretic, but just because you use a trick or template before, doesn’t mean you’re precluded from exercising that in a different way. Chloe East’s rapport and performance opposite Grant in the film’s third act make the film more compelling than the film’s turn leads you to think it will. But the battle of wits the film initially sets up with Grant’s Reed as something of a trickster seemed a richer mine to draw from and the film I think suffers a bit when it becomes more of a slasher. The film also features Topher Grace in a largely one-note role as a would-be rescuer that doesn’t really go anywhere which is a shame. That being said, the draw to seeing this film is the cat and mouse aspect of dueling wits between the girls and Reed. If you like strong characters in your genre, this is a great film to check out, even if is not as unique as some of the film’s other strong genre entries. Grant’s performance is one of the best in genre this year, coupled with Thatcher and East who I want to see in more films after this and I’m already excited for Thatcher’s upcoming role in 2025’s Companion.
Overall, I recommend Heretic, it cribs a bit too much from their previous film HAUNT, although that movie is excellent, so if you enjoyed that film, you’ll love this one. For horror fans, there is more than enough gore to satisfy and if you enjoy strongly written characters, this is among the best for genre this year. Check out HERETIC from A24 in theaters this weekend.
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*** & /*
HERETIC (2024)
3.5 OUT OF 5 Stars
Excellent Performances from Grant and the film’s 2 leads propel this to the near the top of the year’s genre outings.
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