HERETIC

HERETIC is a new psychological horror movie that pits two female Mormon missionaries in a battle of beliefs and wills with a mysterious man named Mr. Reed they’ve come to evangelize and the dangerous escalation that results. HERETIC’s story is driven by the man’s determination to make the women renounce their faith, but his many speeches against Christianity and world religions are mitigated by the women’s defiant responses and an ending that displays the power of sacrifice and prayer.

The movie follows missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), who spend their days going door to door at the addresses of a list of people who have asked to learn more about Mormonism. Barnes is strong-willed and determined, while Paxton is less sure of herself and quite naïve.

They arrive at the remote home of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) in a driving rainstorm. Despite the fact that female missionaries are forbidden to be alone with a man indoors, Reed lures them inside by telling them his wife is in the kitchen. It doesn’t take long for him to show a sinister side, with which he tears apart Mormonism and tries to debunk Christianity, using a diabolically expert knowledge of both the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible.

Sister Barnes tries to push back. However, when she insists on leaving with Sister Paxton, Reed tells them they’re free to go, though there’s one problem. He claims his front door lock has already closed for the nighttime and runs on a timer. This forces the women to wait out the night.

The battle of the minds and spirits between Reed and the women gets ever more intense throughout the night. The women decide to leave through the back of the house but become trapped in Reed’s terrifying and mysterious basement. When they encounter another woman whose face is severely damaged, they realize their lives are at stake.

Can they find the strength to outlast Mr. Reed and maintain their faith? Or, will they lose their faith and their lives?

HERETIC is written and directed by the team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. They wrote the first two movies in the QUIET PLACE franchise and have moved up to their directing debut here. Like the QUIET movies, they use sound and silence to extreme effect and power throughout the new movie.

HERETIC has a cast composed almost entirely of three people engaged in verbal warfare. So, strong actors and dialogue are key. HERETIC delivers big-time on both these fronts. The spiritual battle royale is complex and filled with unusual takes on all things spiritual but ultimately lands on positive ground. However, the villain’s true evil is slowly revealed to the Mormons and the viewer.

HERETIC has almost no foul language. There are no sex scenes or explicit nudity. However, in an early scene, the two young women briefly discuss pornography, male sex organs and condoms, and wonder what sex is like. The violence happens in the final act, but is more terrifying because, by that time, viewers have come to really know and appreciate the women. This amplifies every threat against them to a terrifying crescendo of tension.

The biggest problem with HERETIC is that impressionable viewers may find the villain’s attacks on Christianity and religion convincing. Most, if not all, of his attacks have been refuted, however, by Christian scholars and experts. The women try to rebuff his attacks, but not always convincingly. Happily, the movie’s ending validates sacrifice and the power of prayer, though it comes a little too late. So, HERETIC ends up being excessive, but not totally abhorrent.