Overall, A24 is having an up year, including with a few good horror films – so what did I think of the latest in Heretic? (and yes, Jar Jar Binks was really compared to Jesus in the movie, complete with a terrible impression)
What is the film about?
Heretic follows two female LDS missionaries as they are serving out their mission and reaching out to people who have expressed interest in the church. One of those people is reclusive Englishman, Mr. Reed. From the beginning, things seem a little off, and it quickly turns into a scary situation as the girls are forced to confront aspects of their religion that Reed wants to point out may not be true and use as teaching moments in ways that are very unorthodox and downright creepy.
What worked?
The film starts off well in my opinion, with some uncomfortable (albeit kind of funny) conversations about various aspects of the church between the two main girls. Once they meet Hugh Grant, he plays the role of curious very well. But…
What didn’t work?
What didn’t work for me was how things went once it turned into a full-blown horror movie. I didn’t like the overly creepy aspects of it, and not because it was purposefully trying to be a creepy horror movie, but because it never made sense. I never bought into why certain things were how they were within the house. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but there is a lot about the movie once it shifted to “two girls trapped in the basement” that felt rushed and not well done.
The conversations about religion and the questions surrounding it were very good at first. The two girls staying strong in their beliefs while also wanting to have open conversations was great. But once you find out some more about Reed’s motivations, it goes off on a tangent that took me out of the film and why I was drawn in to begin with.
Another thing that didn’t work was the editing and piecing together of certain aspects of the story that are supposed to “make you think one thing but maybe another is actually happening.”
The winner of this film is?
Still, Hugh Grant is what makes this film. He’s very good but I wouldn’t go into great category. I definitely don’t think he deserves an Oscar, but the film doesn’t work without him. I do like Hugh Grant, but there are many other roles I like him in.
You’ll like this if you liked…
If you liked “older” Hugh Grant in something like The Undoing on HBO, then you will like this. While that was more mystery/thriller and this is definitely more horror, I think he was very good in that and played a similar role much better.
Would I recommend Heretic?
If you just want a creepy date night movie, then sure. Is it one of A24’s best like Rotten Tomatoes wants you to believe? Not to me. I’m far from a horror fan, but there have been better A24 horror films this year including MaXXXine and I Saw The TV Glow.
I think I expected too much out of the deep religious conversations posed in the trailers. A film like Conclave posed some similar conversations but from the highest authorities in a church, but this was just a framing device for “Hugh Grant is nuts, let’s see how they get out of this one”. He tries his best to keep up the charade, but it falls flat to me.
