Heretic (2024)

December 2, 2024 8:20 AM

Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

Surprised this hasn't already been posted to the Purple!

Shepherd and I saw it with friends on opening weekend; he reckons that it might be in the top three horror movies he's seen this year (right now In a Violent Nature holds the #1 spot). I enjoyed it more for the relish with which Grant goes from benign to menacing.

posted by Kitteh (10 comments total)

I haven't yet seen it, but I am so happy with Hugh Grant's recent work.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:10 PM on December 2, 2024 [1 favorite]

Yes, Hugh Grant's performance completely anchored Heretic, and made it one of my favorite films of 2024. It holds its own against just about any religion-related horror, though I know that's a bold statement. His performance and that of the other two actors added up to quite the experience.

It's difficult to say more without spoiling the fun, but I think this movie would appeal to anyone that is willing to entertain questions about faith and belief. It's fair to multiple points of view, but might not be a great experience for someone who is super devout.

Personally, I loved it, even if it isn't absolutely perfect.
posted by abraxasaxarba at 6:47 PM on December 2, 2024 [1 favorite]

I want to see this, but I’m unlikely to do it in the theater. It looks like something I’d enjoy.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:09 AM on December 4, 2024

might not be a great experience for someone who is super devout

I don't really think it poses much difficulty for devout people, unless they've somehow never encountered any of the standard arguments from online atheists. I like Heretic quite a bit (I'd also put it in my top three horror films of the year, so far), but it did feel a lot like Prolific Redditor: The Motion Picture. I'm surprised by how many atheists I've encountered who just loved the feeling of being represented on screen...by a twisted murderer.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 10:00 AM on December 7, 2024 [2 favorites]

I thought it was a good movie, I didn't mind the talkiness at all, it felt compelling. Was good to see some actual ideas in a horror movie.

I listened to the Script Apart interview with the writer/directors and one of them mentioned that he had married into an LDS family and so knows a lot of Mormons. I think they were trying hard to be fair to devout Mormons without whitewashing the church's history. Plenty of individual Mormons seem to have liked the movie though it has been officially condemned by the church.

This movie raises many questions, but one that can be answered is: What's in the Bob Ross Monopoly game?
posted by TheophileEscargot at 12:28 PM on December 7, 2024

The most important lesson of this movie is that if someone offers to put you in any kind of social experiment you can kill them and it is always self defense.
posted by fomhar at 7:16 PM on December 12, 2024

I am an atheist, and I didn't enjoy this film. I saw this a bunch of friends, and we all felt disappointed by it. It's basically Crawlspace, but the nazi elements are replaced with monologues about religion. I generally like "talky" movies, but this one fell flat for me, which is a shame because I was really looking forward to seeing it.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:40 AM on December 14, 2024

I enjoyed the first half, while Grant's Mr. Reed was basically the world's best/worst Atheist Who Wants to Frustrate Christians. But once it became an actual horror film, it started going downhill. Mind you, I still liked it. But what started out feeling like a barnburner settled down into like a 3.5/5 good time.

I really thought we were going to be getting Saw, but Mormon, and I would have signed on for that.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:39 AM on December 30 [1 favorite]

I preferred the film in the first half, when it was a grounded tension-building thriller, though I would have cut the scenes with Elder Kennedy and instead never left the closed environment of the house. Once it became about elaborate schemes and cages, it felt far-fetched. Also marred by predictable horror movie logic in those scenes—you're not going to make sure he's dead and pat down the body for keys? Or uncage those women? You're not going to call an ambulance or the police first, then check on your friend's corpse?

I would have liked the film more had it remained more realistic. Or, alternately, if it had gone Lovecraftian: he did find proof of god, but that god is some ancient pagan horror.
posted by kaisemic at 7:26 AM on January 3 [2 favorites]

This felt like /r/im14andthisisdeep: The Movie. Religion is control? Clap, clap, clap. The only god here was ex machina as our not-so-bright and oh-so-naive heroine miraculously solves and conveniently narrates Grant's every move. Re the three nails in a bit of wood, I saw less telegraphing at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station museum.
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:53 PM on January 10