#141: Heretic

Release Date: November 8th, 2024

Format: Streaming (Max)

Written by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

Directed by: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

3 Stars

Heretic, a horror film about two female LDS missionaries who visit the home of a man interested in knowing more about the tenets of Mormonism, would pair well with 2022’s Barbarian as a double-feature. Which one is the A-side and which the B-side is up for debate; I prefer Barbarian as the A-side, I think. It’s striking how much they have in common.

• Both have incredible first acts. In my review of Barbarian I described the first 30 minutes as “air tight.” I feel similarly about Heretic’s. 

• Both feature a similar premise: Vulnerable female(s) visit(s) an unfamiliar home under false pretenses. Suspenseful dialogue, suspicious glances, and finally, terrible violence ensue.

• Both hosts hide a basement full of secrets, and it is here that I think both plots get a little convoluted. 

In the case of Heretic, I could have stayed upstairs in the living room for a full 90 minutes, with our two protagonists and their mysterious host discussing the merits of religion. It’s intriguing storytelling, and you get a fun, juicy performance out of Hugh Grant, who is clearly having a blast. But instead the plot moves us to the basement by the film’s halfway point and the chills turn to kills. It’s still fun, but not as fun as the set up.