There is something truly magical that happens when a sharp script meets excellent performers. Sure, there are plenty of other filmmaking facets that create cinematic excellence, but how a film looks can rarely make up for how the screenplay writes its characters and how the performers bring those characters to life. Something special happens in cinema when the writing shares the load and the actors are allowed to freely move about the screen, and thankfully “Heretic” shines bright in both.
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods offer an apology for the atrocious “65” (which they also wrote and directed) and have honed all of their skills with the quill to create something riveting and pondering on the new pages. “Heretic” is a sharp, haunting, psychological chamber piece thriller whose characters feel complex and realized and offer plenty to sit with and discuss after the credits roll. You know I’m a sucker for small casts and single location settings, so you know I adored it.
It’s important to classify this film as a psychological thriller and not so much a horror film. The misnomer of “elevated” for everything that isn’t “Terrifier” has become exhausting, but also detrimental to audiences expecting something else. Even for A24, there is little subversion in this new single setting thriller, which is to its benefit as it doesn’t desperately try to be something it is not. It relishes in its philosophical and religious overtones, and is smart enough and sharp enough and so well crafted across the board that the long stretches of monologue delivery and tit for tat debates delivered by Hugh Grant never once feel dull or contrived. For all its dismantling of belief and examination of faith and science in its search for “the one true religion,” Beck and Wood’s script never feels malicious to either side. It wants you to think as it thrills you and moves through the maze of terrors that get more and more unsettling as events unfold.
The film follows two young mormon missionaries Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who arrive at the remote home of reclusive Englishman Mr. Reed (Grant). A rather charming and disarming demeanor, Mr. Reed invites the girls in to his home claiming that his wife is in the kitchen making a delicious blueberry pie. The girls oblige, hoping that this is an opportunity to preach and convert someone on their long day of rejection. However, the longer they remain in the living room, the more and more uneasy they feel, and the more they begin to realize that nothing is really as it seems. It becomes clear that this is not their opportunity to convert, but rather be confronted by a man with much more sinister intentions. As the facade continues to fade and the girls” peril becomes more and more imminent, “Heretic” transforms into a game of cat and mouse and a battle of wits as they barb back and forth about religion, philosophy, belief, miracles, and the darkness that may lie in answering the age old question: what is the one true religion?
Sophie Thatcher is a prominent performer I’ve always felt rather mid on, someone who has all the talent but always feels let down by the projects she’s apart of. This film once again brings its pages to the forefront, giving her the material she needs to really come to life and deliver my personal favorite performance of her career. Chloe East also shines here, walking the tight rope between religious naivety and terrifying reality with each new revelation she’s confronted with. Often times with these kinds of characters we are left shouting at the screen at how dumb their decisions are. The film avoids these kinds of “girl don’t you go down there!” outbursts by placing them in impossible situations that are driven by who they are as characters, which again are fully realized and well written. No one is dumb, merely their preconceived notions of the world and religion challenged while placed in impossible situations.
While both Thatcher and East are great, its Grant who runs away with “Heretic.” I am all in on this new villain era of his career, and my god does he chew through scenery in a big meaty role that lets him run amok across the screen. Tasked with multiple monologues and disguised, sinister intentions, Grant gives Mr. Reed all of his capabilities. Disarming one minute, terrifying the next, charming as he uses board games and Radiohead to deliver philosophical diatribes and sinister as he digs deeper into his unsettling conclusions. For as smart as this film is on paper, it doesn’t work without Grant giving his best work in years. That’s not even a knock on the more fun roles he’s taken on recently, but more so a compliment to how much the script taps into the kind of multifaceted talent someone like Grant has always possessed and just needs the right pages to bring it out of him.
“Heretic“is sharp, thrilling, and an overall great time at the movies. It thrills and chills without ever dumbing itself down, and while its journey is better than its conclusion (which admittedly doesn’t stick the landing) it’s one worth taking. Stellar production design paired with excellent cinematography help aid in creating a constant state of dread in atmosphere, and the attention to detail keeps your eyes glued to the screen in search of clues lingering in the background. In a just world, Grant would be in the best actor conversation. Yes, he is THAT good here.
Speaking as a former hardcore Christian who majored in theology and philosophy, who became a youth pastor turned foul mouth comedian turned film critic who is basically an atheist now, this film was made for me.
Oh, and you will never trust blueberry pie every again.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Heretic” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
