Heretic – Movie Review (4/5)

HERETIC is a psychological horror movie about faith and religion by Beck & Woods. It starts out by scratching the surface a bit before going deep. If that sounds dry or boring, I can reveal that it’s pretty amazing. Read our Heretic movie review here and find it out on VOD now!

HERETIC is a new psychological horror movie that takes place almost entirely in one house. All with just three main characters. The focus is on faith and religion – which are not necessarily the same thing – and how you let it define your life choices.

If that sounds dry or boring, I can reveal that it’s the exact opposite. The runtime is 1 hour and 51 minutes, but time flies in the company of these three characters. It’s actually quite a fantastic story and should become an iconic and infamous horror movie.

Continue reading our Heretic movie review below. It’s out on digital from December 10, 2024.

Welcome to the Labyrinth of Evil

Heretic has the tagline “Question Everything” but in other countries, this has been replaced with “The Labyrinth of Evil”. Of course, this relates directly to what the two young missionaries will encounter when they visit an elderly gentleman.

He has shown interest in hearing more about their religion, so they go on a follow-up visit hoping to convert him. As revealed by the trailer – which fortunately is not particularly spoiler-filled – the elderly man is more interested in keeping the girls so that he can challenge their faith.

The two young missionaries, played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, are now facing the test of their lives. Not only in terms of defending (or just preserving) their faith but also their entire outlook on life. Maybe even their survival.

When they knock on the door of the seemingly ordinary house, they meet the mysterious Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). He is clearly interested in talking to them, but even more interested in pulling them through an intense psychological game.

Here their faith will be put to a brutal test, all while assuring them that they can always “just leave”. Something that is clearly not as simple as he makes it sound.

Hugh Grant as a horror icon

Hugh Grant (The Undoing) is breathtaking as the villain. A seemingly ordinary man on a mission we can’t quite grasp at first. He is extremely creepy as Mr. Reed, who turns out to know more about all the world’s religions than the two missionaries.

He is more interested in how and why religion has such a hold on people than what particular religion anyone has. As Mr. Reed, Hugh Grant is charming in one moment, but in the blink of an eye, he suddenly appears to be extremely dangerous. And then he switches back again.

Hugh Grant’s character is made for him – or he is made for it – and he could easily become a horror icon at this point in his career. Something he would probably enjoy doing. He certainly seems to be having a blast portraying this character.

A perfectly cast trio!

Fortunately, his two victims are played by two fantastic young actors who offer a biting contrast. Heretic could never work as a story if one of these actors failed, so it’s a perfectly cast trio.

Sophie Thatcher plays Sister Barnes, who is a bit more worldly and has experienced life outside the Mormon Church, while Chloe East plays Sister Paxton, who was born into the church.

You may know Sophie Thatcher from the series Yellowjackets (she plays Juliette Lewis as a teenager) or the Stephen King film adaptation The Boogeyman (2023). Chloe East has previously starred in Steven Spielberg’s The Fablemans and the werewolf movie The Wolf of Snow Hollow.

Watch Heretic on Digital now!

The horror duo Beck & Woods are the horror masterminds of Heretic. When Scott Beck and Bryan Woods make a horror movie or thriller, my expectations are immediately raised to almost unfair levels. And they do always deliver.

Well, okay, almost always. There’s the glaring exception of 65, but we can live with that. It was, of course, also a sci-fi thriller, so one could be tempted to say that they should stay away from sci-fi. However, that would be a shame, as they are also behind the A Quiet Place concept, which John Krasinski came in to further develop and direct.

Scott Beck & Bryan Woods also made Haunt (2019), which is one of the most fantastic (and realistically brutal) Halloween horror movies. In addition, they wrote the script for the 2023 film The Boogeyman and have made several episodes of the horror anthology series 50 States of Fright.

Overall, Heretic is a wonderful character study, and psychological horror is the dominant driver for most of the movie. In fact, there is an hour where the entire film is just dialogue-driven. After that, I promise you that there will be physical thrills and horrors. It gets very brutal in the end.

While I am very happy that I watched this movie in a theater, it’s also the kind of movie that can be watched at home. And rewatched a few times. You’ll probably catch even more details each time.

HERETIC is released as a premium video on demand on December 10, 2024.

Details

In Theaters: November 8, 2024
On Streaming: December 10, 2024 (PVOD)
Directors: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Writers: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Cast: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East