By – Gareth Jones

For fans of Hugh Grant, thoughtful horror, theological discussions

Growing up in Utah as a non-Mormon, I was still surrounded by and enveloped in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Most of my friends were members of “the church” as it was called, and I even played church basketball on a regular basis until my teens.  My mother’s side of the family was also steeped in the Mormon faith, and I had over my lifetime been approached many times by family and friends in an effort to convert me. Sometimes this was kind and with love, and other times was intense and disturbing.  As such, I was initially skeptical about this film, as very often films about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are wrong and in many cases just ridiculous.  Of course, so much changed with South Park and Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s musical The Book of Mormon.  Their satirical presentation definitely led to many conversations, and is even referenced in Heretic.  However, this film uses this belief system as a starting point for a much larger debate about faith and of course it is a horror film.

Heretic is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who co-wrote The Quiet Place.  Neither of them are Mormon, but they obviously did their homework and were smart enough to cast two ex-Mormons as the two lead female missionaries.  Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes, the convert who is not from Utah and has a much different perspective and life experience from Ogden, Utahn Mormon-born Sister Paxton played by Chloe East.  I grew up with so many Paxtons. They do a great job of showing the difference between these two paths with their faith.  The story follows these two missionaries as they are trying to get a confirmed conversion for Sister Paxton.  They are in Boulder, Colorado, and trying to find people willing to listen is a huge challenge.  As such, they are willing to visit the home of Mr. Reed, played by the incomparable and perfectly cast Hugh Grant.  He is a lead provided by their mission leader because he had expressed interest. His home is a bit sketchy and they don’t listen to their inner fears as they enter his home without seeing a female member of the house, in this case the hope that Mrs. Reed is really in the kitchen cooking a blueberry pie.  It quickly becomes clear that Mr. Reed is extremely knowledgeable about the Book of Mormon and many other faith traditions.  He begins to challenge them on their own faith and after discovering that they are trapped in the house, they realize things are going to get much worse.

As this is really just a three actor film, it is essential that we find all believable and have ways to connect with the characters.  Beck and Boyd do a great job with this in the writing, but it really comes down to the performances to make this a successful experience.  Thatcher and East both bring their experiences to the front that gives them a level of believability and sincerity.  But of course, the film really lives and breathes with the villain, and here Hugh Grant uses all of his charms and skills to create a charismatic monster.  They give him extended opportunities with long speeches filled with humorous and thoughtful ideas.  His dissection of Creep by Radiohead is especially insightful.  It is particularly effective because those same charms and skills have been used for years in romantic comedies.  We can even bring our understanding that he is a bit of a grumpy person in real life to our reaction to his performance.  The balance between awkward humility and biting insults is all there to form an extremely disturbing character.

Between the performances and the attention to detail, Beck and Woods have crafted a thought-provoking and entertaining horror film. In interviews, they have stated that they were influenced by Contact, Inherit the Wind, and Oleanna.  These influences are definitely there, and Heretic is a welcome addition to the conversation.