This review contains spoilers. Reconsider reading this article if you haven’t watched the movie.
On Nov. 8, 2024, what is perhaps one of the year’s most notable films made its entrance. “Heretic,” released by A24 and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is a religious horror movie centered around some of the biggest questions we experience as humans in everyday life.
The story follows two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) who are on a mission to possibly convert others to the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints. During this journey on a particularly chilly, turbulent and stormy evening, the two stop at the final house, which happens to belong to a man named Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). Little do the girls know, upon their arrival inside of his home (with metal in the walls), Mr. Reed’s intentions are not so simple, nor innocent after all. Event leads to event, ultimately leaving the girls to a game of “cat and mouse” with him as they try to escape his prison-like home.
“Heretic,” while intended to be a horror, contained a lot of unique facets that made it differ from the typical horror movie — namely its thought-provoking themes that become increasingly prevalent as the film draws on. Grant does an excellent job at prodding the viewer with questions on the importance and validity of practicing any religion, claiming that religions are mere “iterations.” Mr. Reed compares this notion to several versions of monopoly and different songs that were inspired by each other, stating that much like them, the most popular religions are the ones which are marketed the best.
When Sister Paxton is forced to escape on her own after Mr. Reed violently slits Sister Barnes’s throat, it is discovered that over the entire course of the movie, Mr. Reed had been trying to say something much bigger. Up to that point, he had repeatedly mentioned the phrase “one true religion,” as though such a theory was a real discovery they had to make in order to be truly enlightened. After Sister Paxton goes through a maze much like a dungeon, which was hidden deep within the bowels of his basement, she comes across a dank room full of caged prophets. It is not until then that Sister Paxton realizes what Mr. Reed had intended to tell her all along: the so-called “one true religion” was control. In other words, it was something that those in power used as a means of control over other people, using their gullibility to render them powerless. Such a twisted view, only proven wrong by pure belief, evokes a sense of existential dread in the audience, checking all the boxes of a horror or even psychological terror.
However, these ideas are put through the opposing perspective in one of the final scenes. As she begins to die from a stab wound, Sister Paxton reveals that even though some might use religion as something to satisfy their lust for power, and praying was proven to be futile by science, she believed there was beauty in the selfless act of thinking about others.
When she miraculously escapes Mr. Reed’s home after he is murdered by Sister Barnes, who used her last breath of energy before she died, Sister Paxton catches sight of a butterfly, which flutters over to her and lands on her hand. Perhaps serving as one of the most meaningful scenes in the movie, it was meant as a sign from Sister Barnes that the afterlife (and therefore hope) truly existed, since Sister Paxton had previously mentioned she would come back as a butterfly after she reached the afterlife, and land on someone’s fingertip.
Such a provocative film sparked the attention of many, earning 92% by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 77% from audiences. By only two weeks out in theaters, “Heretic” has made it big. According to Screen Rant, the film surpassed all expectations, debuting at No. 3 at the domestic box office, its three-day gross being $10.8 million. “Per Variety … Heretic is projected to earn a 3-day gross of $4.6 million during its second weekend. This will push its domestic gross past the $20 million milestone in addition to raising its global box office total to more than $25 million.”
Many believe that the film is not scary in the conventional sense. According to a movie review written by Brian Tallerico on rogerebert.com, “‘Heretic’ is a horror movie about some of the most soul-rattling ideas in history, including not just that there’s nothing after death but that everything we’ve built our lives on has been a lie. And yet, it’s not a film that’s as anti-religious as that sounds. It leaves some of its biggest questions for you to answer. If you’re courageous enough to do so.”
“Heretic” is possibly one of the most haunting yet meaningful movies of the decade. Its uniqueness with not only providing cheap (but also fun) jumpscares but valid questions were the most shocking part of it. The immersive experience in theaters is absolutely phenomenal, so grab tickets, purchase front-row seats and prepare to answer some of the scariest questions that exist. If only you dare.
