In the United States, 47% of people identify themselves as religious, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic serves as an excellent (albeit unnerving) exploration of what it means to believe and the different forms of control those beliefs can have over us. Read our full review of Heretic below.
The film follows two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), as they attempt to spread the word of their religion. On their list of interested peoples is Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who, unfortunately for the two women, has ulterior motives.
During the first act, directors Beck and Woods manage to build tension so thick you could cut it with a pie knife. Much of the film is three people sitting around discussing theology, but these conversations manage to keep you on the edge of your seat. Beck and Woods do relieve some of the tension by injecting some much needed humorous analogies. Mr. Reed and Sister Barnes’ intellectual cat-and-mouse game definitely was the highlight of the film for me. Oftentimes when we did get some action I found myself wanting them to go back to the discussions.
The cinematography accentuates the already tense and stressful scenarios greatly, giving many scenes a claustrophobic feeling, with the shots getting uncomfortably close to the ever-charming Hugh Grant. That in conjunction with the sounds of the hard rain hitting the home and the sharp noises of the timer-lights cutting out makes for a very immersive and intimate experience. I just wish I could’ve seen the film with the blueberry pie scent for the extra immersion.
For me personally, I found the film unfortunately lost some footing once the film shifted more focus onto Chloe East’s character Sister Paxton, whom I felt was a little underdeveloped compared to the other two characters. But that was my only large issue overall with the film.
Overall, I would definitely recommend the film to anyone that is the type of person to enjoy really talky movies. Some may find these types of movies a bit boring, but for me personally I had a really good time with it.
Heretic is now in theaters and was directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. The film stars Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace, and Hugh Grant. The film was distributed by A24 and produced by Stacey Sher, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Julia Glausi, and Jeanette Volturno.
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