Heretic Review: Hugh Grant’s Chilling Role and the Frightening Questions of Faith

Unraveling the Philosophical Horror Behind Hugh Grant’s Heretic

What is more frightening? The idea that a god exists to judge and condemn us? Or the idea that none of it is real at all? A24’s latest horror Heretic, written and directed by A Quiet Place duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, has been highly anticipated due to the film’s concept and headliner: Hugh Grant. Though the trailer may suggest the film is formatted as a puzzle box thriller, Heretic plays more as a dialogue driven mind game between two young believers and a man diabolically eager to dispel those beliefs.

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) find themselves knocking on the wrong door when working as missionaries the night of a terrible storm. When Mr. Reed (Grant) answers, he welcomes them under the pretense that he and his wife would love to host them for tea, blueberry pie and casual conversation. But soon enough, the young girls realize that Reed has no wife, no pie—devastating—and no intention of letting them go.

Strangely, Heretic isn’t creating the sort of post-release buzz other projects in A24’s slate have in recent years. With Talk to Me grossing just shy of $100 million and I Saw the TV Glow making waves across #filmtok, a hashtag with over 1.3 million contributors, it’s worth wondering why Heretic is flying below the radar after its long awaited release. It might have something to do with the film’s ambiguous ending.

Though the story certainly invokes the audience to question what exactly happened in that last scene, it’s refusal to pick a side after all that debating makes the philosophical journey feel inconsequential once we reach the end. It isn’t an ending that sticks with you, that invites controversy or heresy, as the name might suggest. It’s an ending that serves the audience the burden of deciding what resides beyond the great unknown. What is the one true religion. And whether faith is something attained by decades of discipline and education or something that can be found in the simplest of moments—like a butterfly landing on one’s finger.

For those who love theater, this might be your favourite movie of the year. The tension is dialogue driven, which makes the writing that much more brilliant, and picks up a lot of steam in its first half. Most of the film plays within the same few sets, pushing the project to really feel like a stage play. But the film doesn’t shy away from big questions. In fact, Heretic embraces them. And herein lies the fear. Because what could be scarier than the great unknown?

The idea of control is prevalent in this film in ways audiences might not understand right away, which seems to be the point. The missionaries make the choice to knock on his front door, which will inevitably lead to them down a treacherous path. They are driven by their ambition to convert others, but are then met with an antagonist driven by an ambition to disprove and dispel. They make the choice to believe his lies, as they choose to believe the teachings of their religion, which he proves are regurgitated by older religions.

The most interesting point this film makes is that the antagonist places all of this weight in the knowledge of theology and history, while questioning whether the only requirement to being religious is one’s belief. The Mormon girls are clearly well read and studied, maybe not as much as he is, but it is faith that pushes the girls through each of Reed’s tests. But is it enough to save them?

Watch the trailer for Heretic below

 VVS Films releases Heretic in theatres across Canada on November 8th

[Review by guest blogger Jurgen Sosa]