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Heretic Review: One of the Best Horror Movies of 2024 Comes Right After Halloween

Pabio November 6, 2024

Curiosity is a powerful element when watching the films of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Heretic. It’s quick to make you love the pair of leads, and being aware of the kind of movie you’re watching makes you worry about what’s going to happen. It’s even more intriguing with the introduction of the mysterious antagonist, who constantly makes you wonder what’s real and what’s fiction. The protagonists are drawn even deeper into the villain’s sinister plan, and you wonder with dread what the next level will bring. And finally, with its enigmatic conclusion, the film makes you think about its themes and draw your own interpretations.

Heretic

Release date: November 8, 2024
Directed by : Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Written by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
With : Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East
Rating: R for bloody violence
Runtime: 110 minutes

Over the course of its 110-minute running time, it constantly finds new ways to fascinate and frighten – and it does so with just three main characters and a unique (albeit complex) setting.

A minimalist feature film like this requires a precise, intelligent script and performers who can effectively captivate and carry the full weight of the story, and Heretic shines with both. A clever meta-story structure is complemented by intelligent, incisive, and well-researched commentary on the long and vast history of organized religion and the stars. Hugh GrantSophie Thatcher and Chloe East each provide unique energies that raise the temperature of the film to boiling point.

Thatcher and East play Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, respectively, two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Colorado who plan to end their day of proselytizing by visiting the home of a man named Mr. Reed (Grant). As the rain begins to fall and Mr. Reed promises that his wife will be safe in the kitchen baking blueberry pie, the young women enter the house and prepare their pitch for Mormonism.

As the conversation begins, Barnes and Paxton are surprised and impressed by their host’s intellectual knowledge of religion and the depth of his education on the subject. The circumstances become progressively more frightening, however, while Mr. Reed’s wife never appears, the smell of blueberry pie is revealed to come from a scented candle, and it is learned that the front door has a lock with a timer – forcing you to exit. the house from the back. The missionaries try to maintain their composure, but it becomes increasingly clear that they have been caught in an elaborate trap designed to test their faith.

Heretic has a sharp and chilling storyline offering fascinating perspectives on organized religion.

There are some deviations from this main story, as Topher Grace plays a church elder who realizes that Barnes and Paxton haven’t checked in and begins to retrace their steps, but Heretic we’re mostly stuck with the protagonists in Mr. Reed’s house, and it’s captivating in its deft escalation (there’s a natural and effective correlation between the young women literally descending into the puzzle and the rising tension in the atmosphere). Sympathetic fear is an important part of the equation, as it becomes increasingly clear that Barnes and Paxton are in real trouble, but its most substantial success lies in its rhetoric and debate.

Mr. Reed’s villainy is never in question, but he fits perfectly into the cinematic story of intellectual psychopaths who use their intelligence to emotionally break their target – and he undoubtedly makes some insightful points, comparing missionary work to marketing and drawing a parallel. between the common roots of popular religions and the melodic link between “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies, “Creep” by Radiohead and “Get Free” by Lana Del Ray. He manages to gain the public’s respect by demonstrating education and reason, and you are terrified/morbidly curious to find out what his end goal is and the ultimate “truth” he has learned through all his studies.

Heretic It’s not just a scary conference, though, and Barnes and Paxton aren’t hostages without agency. It’s easy to imagine there being obtuse and ignorant accusations about this, but the film is not an attempt to attack the Mormon Church or organized religion in general; it activates a conversation about personal faith and the place that faith-based institutions occupy in our society. The protagonists are not blind followers who let their beliefs collapse based on Mr. Reed’s speech, because part of their fight for freedom is to question his current thesis and his presented evidence.

Hugh Grant is a captivating guy in Heretic, and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are wonderful.

Philip Messina’s phenomenal production design makes Mr. Reed’s house a singularly intimidating environment, and Chung-hoon Chung’s excellent cinematography draws the audience into the trap alongside the main characters, but Heretic‘s intimate scope also means that performances are paramount in selling the film’s intentions, and the production has chosen three actors perfectly suited to the task. The film completely fails as an exercise in horror without inspiring empathetic fear in Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, but Sophie Thatcher (who is quickly establishing herself as a huge talent in the genre) and Chloe East impress with their pathos and courage as the story progresses. .

As excellent as his colleagues are, Hugh Grant is the star of Hereticbecause it is his performance that makes the film special. Audiences have spent decades appreciating his particular British charm in romantic comedies and dramas, and that familiar sweetness proves effective when Mr. Reed lures Barnes and Paxton to his home – but then Grant continues to take whatever he gets earned some emotional goodwill for a scary movie. twist as the character’s true intentions are revealed. He does not show dangerous anger or pose a physical threat; his danger is that of a charismatic guide leading young women through his labyrinth, and his recognized delicious smile is made frightening.

The publishing window for Heretic It’s a bit strange, since it arrives in theaters a little over a week after Halloween, but it’s a worthy effort to extend the spooky season. It’s a film with an intelligent and insightful vision, a tense and thrilling storyline, a trio of exceptional performances, and a riveting ending that sticks in your mind well beyond the end credits, easily making it one of the best horror films of the year.

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Mondor Festival

Heretic Review: One of the Best Horror Movies of 2024 Comes Right After Halloween

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