TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! With Heretic, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, writers of A Quiet Place, are back writing and directing after their previous film, 65, failed to wow critics despite the seemingly surefire premise of Adam Driver fighting dinosaurs. This dramatic horror tale follows young Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) who are out knocking on doors. This is how they encounter Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), an intellectually curious man who invites them in to talk. At first, they are unsure about going into a strange man’s house, but he promises his wife that he is baking pie in the kitchen and seems kind, curious, and engaging about religion.
While Sisters Barnes and Paxton are there to try to convert Mr. Reed, they quickly find that he knows more about Mormonism than they do. In fact, he seems to know an extraordinary amount about a vast array of religions. As he challenges them, they become increasingly uncomfortable until he calms and soothes them back to a place of comfort. But as the night stretches on, and the girls want to leave, they find they are in for more than they bargained for.
The first hour or so of Heretic is one of the best setups for a horror movie I’ve ever seen. It gets deeply intellectual about the nature of religion and pulls no punches, not just about Mormonism, but Judaism and Christianity too. Even though the beginning is essentially just three people talking in a room, it never gets boring because of the see-sawing between tension and release, fascinating dialog, and superb acting. When things escalate, it becomes more of a traditional horror film, but even still, there are enough surprises to keep it fresh and interesting.
“…there to try to convert Mr. Reed, they quickly find that he knows more about Mormonism than they do.”
The acting here is top-notch, with Hugh Grant making a shockingly good horror threat. In The Matrix, Keanu Reeves was the perfect casting choice for Neo because it was important that we doubt that this guy formerly known for being a goofball could be the savior of humanity. In much the same way, the affable Grant has a long way to go to get to threatening, but he takes you on a hell of a journey and gets to places you didn’t think he could go. Thatcher and East more than hold their own as two young women with different starting points on religion, undergoing a crisis of faith and safety.
Beck and Woods do an excellent job of creating a tense environment, keeping the pace moving, and keeping the film looking and sounding amazing with great shots and punchy dialog. Heretic falters a bit in the last act because some of the astounding work deconstructing religion gets partially undone by a somewhat predictable and disappointing resolution that undercuts some of the previous setups. But more importantly, after the resolution, Mr. Reed’s motivations make little sense. What began as a remarkably complex and interesting character devolves into something not very thoughtful at all, with no other motivation than to serve the plot. Even still, horror fans may come for the creepiness but leave with some new ideas in their head, which is something to be lauded.
Heretic had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in the US on November 8, 2024.
"…come for the creepiness, but leave with some new ideas..."
