Reviews

‘Heretic’ Review: Hugh Grant Gets the Showcase He Deserves

September 24th, 2024 | By Matthew Monagle

Of all the quotes about God that have endured throughout the centuries, none feel as persuasive as the words of Abraham Lincoln: when I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, and that’s my religion. It’s a simple deconstruction of the concept of morality; it’s also a pretty good premise for a religious horror film. In Heretic, the latest film from A Quiet Place creators Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the very concept of religion takes center stage, resulting in a wonderfully twisted movie that is equal parts gothic horror and theological discussion.

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are people on a mission. Quite literally, in fact – the young women are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have traveled far from home to convert others in the name of Jesus. While Barnes has already baptized several new members into the church, Paxton has lagged behind, which is why she is intent on connecting with Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), a local retiree who has signed up for an in-home visit with the local elder.

At first, their conversation shows promise. Reed asks challenging questions about the two missionaries’ beliefs, but demonstrates a deep understanding of the Book of Mormon, admitting that he’s always been interested in the way that religions change and evolve over time. But when the two women realize that Reed may not be telling the entire truth about his home, they frantically try to leave, only to discover that the front door is locked. Reed then presents them with two options: leave through the door marked ‘belief,’ or leave through the door marked ‘disbelief,’ and live with the consequences either way.

One of life’s little pleasures is watching a filmmaker fully deconstruct an actor onscreen. Pair a performer with a creative who understands their evolution as an artist – such as an Adam Sandler with Paul Thomas Anderson or the Safdie brothers – and you get the gift of a metatextual performance that is both of and above that actor’s body of work. Heretic is that kind of role for Hugh Grant. Reed is the perfect distillation of his work, twisting together the bumbling charm and cold arrogance that shaped his Hollywood persona into something entirely unique.

Had the directors spent the entire movie in the sitting room, it’s hard to argue Heretic would have been any worse for it. Reed is a delightfully dangerous character, made even more so by his own self-awareness. Watching Grant fence verbally with East and Thatcher – sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, but always taking stock of his opponents’ defenses – is funny, unnerving, and oddly persuasive. We’re never quite sure if Reed is full of shit, but that’s part of the point the movie is trying to make.

In fact, most of Heretic exists in a delicious liminal state where no one is threatened but danger is everywhere. Reed acknowledges the dark undertones that come with his house – it is strange, he cheerfully admits, to run both doors and windows on a mechanical timer – even as he maintains his distance from the two missionaries and promises to help them locate the exit. It is further credit to both Grant the actor and Grant the filmography that Heretic can thread this needle, with the film flipping him between dangerous and harmless moment-to-moment, scene-to-scene.

And as the young women venture further into the bowels of the home, Beck and Woods have a great deal of fun with the construction of their madhouse. The production design of Heretic is one of the film’s biggest strengths – no, maybe the practical design of the home would not pass a YouTuber’s fact check, but the specifics of the design speak to the theological stage show that Reed is putting on for his guests. The effort behind the labyrinth is at least part of the point, and Heretic does a good job of subverting our own suspensions of disbelief with a central character who is absolutely that extra.

But while Heretic takes its time to get where it’s going, this does not remain an ambiguous film. As the movie ramps up to its bombastic ending, what is remarkable about Heretic is how these seismic narrative shifts honor, not undermine, the first two acts. There is no one more devout than those who are teetering on the edge of disbelief; there is also no one more evangelical than those whose faithlessness is personal in nature. While the movie may seem to undermine what we know about each character, pay very close attention to what is at the core of their respective belief systems. Reed might not be the only one putting on a show for their own peace of mind.

Heretic is a movie full of big ideas and even bigger swings – and that alone would be enough to make it stand out among this year’s best horror movies. But what I keep coming back to is its delicate unpacking of one person’s faith. Reed may be the one holding court, but the line between the faith and the faithless in the movie is thinner than you suspect. The fact that Beck and Woods were able to make something this over-the-top without ever once taking their audience for granted – the believers and the nonbelievers – is the real miracle of Heretic. [4/5]