Review: Heretic

Hugh Grant is fantastic in faith(less)-based thriller

Evangelical writer Philip Yancey once wrote that “no one ever converted to Christianity because they lost the argument.” I’d also argue that few have likely switched to atheism solely because of rhetoric. Faith persists despite evidence to the contrary and unbelief exists even in the face of the inexplicable. Our arguments to convince each other instead of living in the tense middle is the source of constant conflict. 

Heretic is at its best when it leans into the dread that lurks behind arguments for and against faith, and the way civil discussions quickly devolve into attempts to break down people’s deepest-held beliefs, often simply to help the person driving the argument shore up their own shaky foundations. It’s a tense but often funny thriller, anchored by one of Hugh Grant’s best performances. 

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are two young Mormon missionaries paying visits to potential converts. Their last stop is at the cozy cottage home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), who invites them in and says he’s eager to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Barnes and Paxton are initially hesitant; per Mormon regulations, they can’t enter a man’s home alone. But Mr. Reed is so folksy and kind; and besides, his wife is just in the kitchen. They can smell the blueberry pie she’s cooking. 

And Reed isn’t lying about being curious about the church. He has a highlighted and flagged copy of the Book of Mormon on his bookshelf and quickly peppers the young women with questions about the history of their faith, including its seedier aspects. It quickly becomes apparent that he isn’t just fascinated by religion; he’s an expert in it. But his questions quickly become more antagonistic, even when hidden behind his smile. And by the time the girls learn that there is no Mrs. Reed – and that the smell of the pastry is nothing more than a blueberry candle – it’s too late. They’re trapped in the house with a polite but potentially dangerous man who sees himself as a missionary for unbelief, and he’s got some object lessons for them that will challenge their faith and potentially cost them their lives. 

Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who also co-wrote the screenplay, previously wrote the script for A Quiet Place, a horror-thriller that had more on its mind than its alien-based premise might have suggested. And while Heretic has a malicious villain, creepy labyrinths and its own moments of tension, it’s also more smarter than some might initially give it credit for. 

If A Quiet Place was an example of how to build tension through silence, Heretic goes the opposite route, constantly stopping so that its characters can proselytize. Much of the film’s first hour takes place in a makeshift chapel Mr. Reed has constructed in his home, where he busts out board games, vinyl records and paintings to convince the young women that each of the world’s major religions are just iterations of stories told from the dawn of time – he hints they all reach back to “one true religion,” but he’s vague about what that means. 

An hour filled with atheist arguments could sound dreadful, like being trapped in an elevator with Ricky Gervais. But this stretch is the film’s strongest, largely due to Grant’s performance. Grant has gleefully embraced his role as a character actor late in life – has he ever been better than as the villain in Paddington 2 – and this is among his strongest and most enjoyable work. Grant’s British charm is on full display; he happily pulls out every bumbling comment and facial tic – his apologetic cringe when he reveals that his tests of belief may make the girls with they were dead is fantastic. His arguments are emphatic and her grows agitated when the girls don’t understand his points, but he never loses that spark; Mr. Reed is like if Bill Maher became likable. An extended screed about iterations of the board game Monopoly is probably the film’s highlight, although kudos for Grant and the screenwriters for ending a long rant about the virgin birth with a Jar Jar Binks impression. I know horror movie performances aren’t usually considered at awards time, but Grant should be in contention. 

But Beck and Woods are smart enough to know that there are holes to poke in Reed’s arguments. And while Sister Paxton is too kind to push back, Sister Barnes isn’t afraid to challenge him. Thatcher and East are fantastic as young women a bit too naive about their own beliefs and mission, with their own faith struggles and journeys to undertake. I appreciate that the film holds its cards close to the vest about which side it lands on as long as it can, particularly as to whether Mr. Reed is truly as anti-faith as he initially lets on or if there’s a darker and more sinister god he worships (and, in the end, both are kind of true).

Heretic is less interested in whether atheism or theism are true and more fascinated with the passion behind our arguments about faith, and the ways in which we brand our deepest-held beliefs in order to sway people to our side. There’s a reason why the film opens with a conversation between the Sisters discussing condom ads; Mr. Reed sees missionary work as nothing more than marketing, and different sects of Christianity as rebrands on other religions. But the film doesn’t go so far as to make Reed an antihero – after all, anyone totally right in their anti-faith argument probably wouldn’t have a dungeon in the basement or a mysterious woman blindfolded and held captive down there. 

Heretic is smart, and often very funny, mostly from how Grant’s kindly persona is at right angles to the more sinister goings on. It falters a bit in its final hour, as it moves from the chapel and object lessons to a more cliched horror labyrinth and seems more interested in delivering twists than in continuing its more interesting discussions. A subplot involving Topher Grace as a Mormon pastor looking for the girls feels like wheel-spinning that never amounts to much But Beck and Woods ratchet up the suspense and deliver some effective shocks. Its ending has a few surprises up its sleeves and manages to send audiences out with a few questions and debates of their own. It’s a fun scary movie that’s a bit smarter than I expected, and while I don’t know that any of its arguments swayed me, they were fun to engage in.