Heretic
Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, "MaXXXine," TV's 'Yellowjackets') and Sister Paxton (Chloe East, "The Fablemans") couldn't be more different, the first worldly, the latter, having been brought up in the Church since birth, more naive. But they will prove a formidable combination when they are invited into the home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who presents himself as someone interested in learning more about the Church of the Latter Day Saints but soon reveals himself as a "Heretic."
Laura's Review: B
Writer/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (writers, "A Quiet Place;" directors "65") plunge their two young heroines into a uniquely challenging theological discussion which quickly turns into a more horrific challenge when they realize Mr. Reed has locked them into his peculiar home, their only two options to exit a test of their faith. Fueled by a deviously charming performance by Hugh Grant, "Heretic" gives us something different until it runs out of creative gas in its last act.
Even the very opening moments of "Heretic" defy expectations, Barnes and Paxton sitting on a public bench discussing condoms and penis size, Paxton having gleaned some information from porn which she rationalizes has provided her divine revelation as she saw the soul draining from an objectified woman's eyes. This is all funnier than it sounds, but in her zeal to get her first baptism, her openness with a group of teenaged girls ends up getting her pantsed at an intersection, an unamusing humiliation. After a grueling day, the pair's last stop will be at the home of someone who has expressed interest in their visit and so, after locking their bicycles at the iron gate of a fairy tale house, they ring the bell. A shadowy figure behind its rippled, yellow glass takes his time answering, then awkwardness ensues when he invites them in out of the precipitation which has just begun, assuring them his wife is in the kitchen after they inform him their religion demands a female presence in order to enter.
Reed will leave the two to look about his living room with its floral wallpaper and small transom windows, returning with a tray bearing Cokes (caffeine is forbidden by the LDS) and a burning candle. He asks the girls where they're from, gives them his own synopsis of Mormonism and plops a copy of The Book of Mormon on a coffee table, its copious post-it placeholders causing Paxton to delight in his academic pursuits, saying he is better read than they and making a pun of his name. But things take an uncomfortable turn when he again leaves the room and Barnes notices that the candle he's brought out is blueberry pie scented, the same aroma purportedly coming from the wife they haven't yet seen's baking. And when he returns Reed will admit he's purposely led them on, all as part of his quest to determine the 'one true religion,' as he begins to methodically poke holes in all of them, using the development of the Monopoly game as an example of his theories. Uncomfortable turns into fearful when they realize his front door is bolted, a timing device, he explains, that won't release until morning, offering them an exit through the back of his house. Having led them into a chapel-like library and basically admitting there is no wife, he begins a discourse on the concept of belief itself, they having accepted his lie, writing 'Belief' on one door and 'Non-belief' on the other. Paxton tries to acquiesce by walking towards the latter, but the more confident Barnes becomes defiant, punching a few holes in Reed's theories and heading for the door which confirms her unshakeable faith.
The film is gripping up until this point, but unfortunately things turn into more predictable crazed lunatic territory once the girls find themselves in a dingy basement with no apparent exit. Beck and Woods will occasionally check in with Church Elder Kennedy (Topher Grace, 'Traffic," "Spider-Man 3's" Venom), who has begun to worry about the girls as it has begun to snow and they have not returned. He'll begin to retrace their steps, although his existence within the story does little other than to reinforce Reed's predetermination. Down in the basement, a creepy Prophet (Elle Young) is introduced to test belief in miracles, but this development also disappoints, a device to illustrate that Paxton is smarter than she's appeared, but one which also devolves into generic psychopath tropes. Interest is maintained by production designer Philip Messina ("Mother!"), who keeps adding spaces beyond the one we're in, and cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung, "The Handmaiden," "Last Night in Soho") who, having favored close-ups, will pull back his camera to place Paxton within the model of Reed's home we'd seen in his chapel, its maze-like structure emphasizing the film's cat and mouse nature. But the film's biggest assets are its theological debate and its three leads, Grant hiding his evil intent behind his seductive come-on, East's wide-eyed enthusiasm a great foil for Thatcher's sophisticated assurance.
A24 releases "Heretic" in theaters on 11/8/24.
