Heretic (2024)

“Religion is just a system of control.”

Hugh Grant plays a man with ill intentions who invites two young female Mormon missionaries into his home in 2024’s Heretic. The two young ladies are portrayed by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, both of whom grew up within the Mormon faith in their real lives. The film was released by A24 and co-written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

In the film, Sister Paxton (East) and Sister Barnes (Thatcher) are on a missionary trip in Boulder, Colorado and they encounter the warm but odd Mr. Reed (Grant), who invites him into his home where he assures them that his wife is in the kitchen preparing a blueberry pie. The ladies are not allowed to enter a home without a female partner present, so they enter the home with a bit of hesitation. Once inside, things slowly become stranger as Mr. Reed challenges the faith of the young ladies. Soon enough, Srs. Paxton and Barnes become frightened and determine to escape from Mr. Reed’s home. When they realize that they cannot escape due to timed locks and they can’t call out due to the metal in the walls, the missionaries accept the challenge of a game from Mr. Reed. If they succeed, they win their freedom. If they fail, who knows what awaits them? Check out Heretic for a wonderfully nerve-wracking time.

Heretic isn’t a perfect film, but it sure is fun to watch. Hugh Grant’s disarming and eccentric delivery quickly turns into a sinister friendliness, if that makes any sense. Sophie Thatcher’s performance is cold, calculated, and confident. I especially enjoyed her deconstruction of Mr. Reed’s challenges not only to her Mormon faith, but of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. While I am personally not well-versed on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I do know my Catholic faith, and I laughed a bit whenever Mr. Reed offered his comparisons of Christianity to Mithras, Horus, and more. All of these arguments have been snuffed out for some time, so I am curious if the writers simply googled “arguments against Christianity” or they intentionally chose the weak arguments presented in the film. Theology aside, the film is very entertaining and Srs. Paxton and Barnes were easy to cheer for in the film. Chloe East did an especially amazing job as Sister Paxton, with her character becoming the strongest in the film as far as I’m concerned. Also keep an eye out for a wonderful and unexpected cameo from a well-known sitcom star who has had a marvelous career in film as well.

No matter what your status is when it come to faith and religion, I think that you’ll enjoy Heretic. It’s one of my favorite movies from the last few years, and its core story of control and self-empowerment plays out with perfection.

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