Heretic

Movie Name: Heretic
Year of Release: 2024
Director: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review

The directing team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have steadily been carving a career for themselves, both as directors, but also as writers, having successfully established the "A Quiet Place" franchise with John Krasinski, to name one of their most successful endeavors. Their prior directorial endeavor, "65", with Adam Driver was mostly panned by critics, and didn't reach much of an audience, but "Heretic" has been a fine return to form for this duo. The film focuses on two young women, missionaries from the Mormon church, who happen to knock at the door of a reclusive older gentleman by the name of Mr. Reed. While briefly chatting with them at his door, Reed invites them in, to which the missionaries reply that they can only do so, if another female presence is in the house. Reed reassures them that his wife is inside, baking a pie. After coming in, they all engage in a discussion about religion, and as Reed briefly leaves the room to check on a few things, the young women realize that the front door is locked, and that the scent they thought was coming from the pie, is actually from a candle. The missionaries soon realize they're locked in, and Reed gives them an option to escape the house, by choosing one of two doors he presents to them. Both doors however lead to the same dungeon, where a chained woman eats a poisoned pie only to soon die. Reed claims that she is a prophet from God, and that she will resurrect. In the meantime, one of the Elders of the Mormon Church appears at Reed's door, seeking the young missionaries, and he mentions not having interacted with them. After deflecting the Elder, Reed goes back down to the dungeon, and the events take an even darker turn.

One of the most interesting elements about "Heretic" is of course the casting of the charming and good humored Hugh Grant as the sinister, intelligent, and dangerous Mr. Reed. Much like Robin Williams personified in the lonesome character he played in Mark Romanek's "One Hour Photo", it seems that for aging male comedians, in order to keep consistently working, you must branch out to darker and psychotic characters (turns out being funny is a quality reserved for young people only, older ones have to wither themselves out). The writer/director team of "Heretic" is tremendously successful in creating an environment that progressively unfolds itself, starting with an engaging intellectual conversation between the characters on the topic of religion and faith, and then progressively evolving that discussion to a reflection on control, and eventually on survival. It is indeed a thriller, and it is a chamber piece where an older man with a sinister motivation is apparently in control of the situation, trying out these young women (toying with them), but also a narrative peppered with some surprises. There are some influences from M. Night Shyamalan here, but also from Ari Aster, but the film makers stay on course with their aesthetic and their point of view, though sadly this is a film that is more in love with its own intellectual point of view and its set-up, more so than the actual characters who inhabit it. Not much is surrendered in terms of information or nuance about Mr. Reed, or much about the young women, which makes them all feel less impactful and vividly authentic. The cast is engaging, particularly Hugh Grant, who uses his charm and affable tone to navigate the darker aspects of the character. He gets great support from Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East. The production team is equally solid, even if the cinematography from Chung-hoon Chung is at times almost too dark. Chris Bacon's score and Philip Messina's production design are both highlights of the feature. It's a watchable and well constructed feature, even if it could benefit from some additional attention on character building.