Heretic is a movie I’ve been looking forward to watching, especially because, having served a mission for the Mormon Church a long time ago, I was intrigued to see how Hollywood would tackle the experience of Mormon missionaries… in a horror movie.
I’ve even played with my own ideas for a Mormon missionary-themed horror movie, but I honestly never thought anyone in Hollywood would actually produce one.
Yet, here we are, with Heretic, a film that dives deep into some of the philosophical questions surrounding faith, doubt, and the nature of belief. It questions the concept of religion as a whole.
What I liked most about Heretic was how effectively it balanced its horror elements with its great dialogue and character development. The film also has some interesting discussions on faith and religion, questioning the very essence of belief and what it means to truly have faith.
For me, these moments were the strongest part of the movie. Through the conversations, we really get to know the characters, which include the two sister missionaries and the sinister Mr. Reed, played by Hugh Grant.
Grant, who has been receiving a lot of well-deserved praise for his performance, brings an unsettling charisma to his role as a seemingly harmless man who quickly reveals a far darker side.
His interactions with the Sister missionaries, portrayed by Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher, are intriguing, especially because their discussions about faith and life echo conversations that I had with people through my own experiences.
At one point, there’s a conversation involving Monopoly that mirrors something I experienced while talking to someone, who luckily didn’t end up trying to kill me. It’s a very interesting and engaging conversation, and these conversations added an eerie layer of familiarity.
The representation of Mormon missionaries felt surprisingly accurate. East and Thatcher’s portrayals of the sister missionaries capture the genuine, sometimes naïve enthusiasm and the earnestness that’s often a hallmark of Mormon missionaries.
Seeing that authenticity made it easy to become invested in their characters and the journey they go on, especially because the dialogues and themes explored felt so genuine.
But while the first two acts keep you glued to the screen, with intense philosophical conversation and tension building, the third act takes a disappointing turn into more familiar horror territory.
As the film shifted from psychological suspense to more traditional horror tropes, it lost some of the originality and edge that had made it so engaging. I was completely captivated until about halfway through the third act when it felt like the film fell into a more typical horror movie formula.
It seems like Heretic traded its introspective exploration of faith for the kind of horror scenes we’ve all seen before, which, while effective, felt like a missed opportunity to elevate the film into something truly exceptional.
Regardless, Heretic is a solid movie that largely succeeds in blending elements of psychological horror with a critique of faith and religion.
In the end, Heretic is a fun watch that doesn’t quite reach its full potential.
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the writers behind A Quiet Place, deserve credit for their interesting approach to this story, which is a bit more layered and complex than your average horror fare.
