Final Rating: 4/5
In a sermon from April 2003, Gordon B. Hinckley, then-president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints delivered this quote: “Each of us has to face the matter—either the Church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church and kingdom of God, or it is nothing.”
At some point in each person’s religious journey, they’ll likely reckon with that idea. Are the things we believe – are taught to believe – entirely true, or entirely false? The answer is usually somewhere in the middle, but the notion of dogma raises important questions about personal beliefs vs. organized religion; questions that often act as the first step on a person’s deconstruction journey, or lay the foundation for a reinforced faith.
Heretic, directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, begins by posing that initial question and turning the journey of deconstruction into a horror story. While its ambitions are loftier than it can ultimately pull off, it largely succeeds in drawing the audience in through a career-highlight performance from Hugh Grant. Grant is joined by talented co-stars Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher, and the trio’s chemistry is nothing short of electric.
Thatcher and East play Sisters Barnes and Paxton, two Mormons knocking on doors as part of their mission. After a good number of dismissals from strangers unreceptive to their message, they encounter Mr. Reed (Grant), who enthusiastically welcomes the girls into his home.
Reed is initially a breath of fresh air for the girls, receptive to their message while also revealing himself knowledgeable about Mormonism, due to his past PhD research. But as the conversation wears on, Reed challenges Barnes and Paxton with increasingly uncomfortable questions about their beliefs. Before long, Barnes and Paxton begin to wonder who’s converting whom.
The best moments of Heretic are the lengthy conversations between Reed and the girls. Reed is fascinated with the hypocrisies of organized religion, singling out several questionable positions the Mormon Church has officially held over the years and challenging his guests to defend or explain them. The characters’ first conversation culminates in a discussion of the Mormon Church’s stance on polygamy, and the possibility that it was made church doctrine specifically to benefit Joseph Smith. Even if everyone in the room can agree on their disapproval of polygamy, the meat of the conversation comes in the reasons why.
For Reed, this is an example of organized religion lying to its congregation to protect its leaders. For Barnes, it’s a regrettable position that existed within a specific historical context, and is no longer needed, though it may have been at one time. Paxton is less informed about the matter but knows that the Church’s stance is currently one against polygamy.
The variety of knowledge on these initial topics immediately illustrates the leads’ philosophical approaches to religion. Barnes and Reed have each examined their beliefs in detail, and as a result, their personal perspectives diverge wildly. One has been renewed in her faith, now a stronger believer, and the other emerged a fervent disbeliever, respectively.
The film’s most heated discussion sees Reed presenting a grand unifying theory of religion – specifically the Abrahamic traditions – with Barnes then attacking flaws in his logic one by one. Interestingly, the film seems to stand firmly against Reed’s cynical view, though it stops just short of taking a pro-religious (or pro-Mormon) stance.
Reed’s arguments that “ultimately, all religions are the same” are presented as faulty logic, a clever use of doublespeak easily dismantled rather than argued against. In effect, Barnes does not actually have much to say for her own beliefs, leaving an interesting side of the character underbaked.
In contrast to the others, Paxton has never reflected on her beliefs. Writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods use Paxton’s uncertainty to position her as an audience surrogate. Unsure of her own beliefs, Paxton can react to both Reed and Barnes, a clever writing device to indicate who’s “winning” the arguments at any given point. It’s also an effective depiction of a deconstruction journey, rarely depicted like this in film.
The performances of each of the leads are great, but the true standout is Grant. Grant is charming in the role, playing Reed as a charismatic, genius academic. He’s a bit full of himself, but never comes across as an outright narcissist. Rather, he comes across like a long-neglected PhD candidate who finally has the opportunity to talk about his dissertation.
Fittingly, he never shuts up. On at least one occasion, he talks the whole way through a scene he’s not even in. Thankfully, Grant is so brilliant in the role that there’s nothing more entertaining than listening to Reed talk. He’s an excellent orator: Reed repeatedly makes heavily flawed arguments, up to and including “we’re all living in a simulation”, and Grant sells the delivery so well it’s easy to just go along with him.
Through the course of the film Grant evokes a charming older man, a Reddit atheist, a stage magician, and even gets a few scenes as a mustache-twirling villain near the end. He’s also full of excellent quotes, like “You’ve all played Monopoly, can you guess which token is my favourite? I won’t tell you! Meow!”
Visually, Heretic is beautiful. Exterior shots establish the town outside as picturesque and memorable. Once the film transitions to Reed’s house, it feels lived-in and fully furnished with personal touches. Unique curiosities litter the floors and walls, and often become briefly relevant for interesting visual sequences and metaphors. In particular, a scale model Reed has of his house is used several times during the film to depict his control over his guests.
Heretic sets up a great horror premise, and delivers on a monster without deviating from its core themes. One of those themes is disappointment. The dissatisfaction of truly believing in something that isn’t necessarily reciprocal. The letdown after rising tension leads to anticlimax. The disillusionment of one’s faith dissected and simplified.
In some cases, this really works, like a subplot involving the girls’ superior, Elder Kennedy (entertainingly played by Topher Grace), following their trail only to turn away at the last second after handing their kidnapper an informational brochure. In other cases, especially in the final minutes of the film, the resolution isn’t as thematically interesting, and ends up retroactively casting the buildup to it in a more confusing light.
Heretic is a tense horror film revolving around philosophical disagreements about the degree to which various organized religions are hypocritical. Built around introductory deconstruction, the questions Heretic raises are rarely novel, but the conversations around them are captivating. While not everything works thematically, the core trio is too magnetic to ignore. For a film based on difficult conversations during missionary work, it’s so much more fun than it has any right to be.
Heretic was seen during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
