I recently got the chance to see Heretic, the new horror film from A24, from writers/directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods with my fellows from the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. The story is a psychological thriller that borders on horror starring Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East and Hugh Grant.
The movie opens with an almost Tarantino-esque non sequitur conversation between Sister Barnes (Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (East), two missionaries with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints. Then follows a montage of them going around town, proselytizing their religious views to folks. We get the sense that the people to whose houses they go somehow solicited the visit, but Sister Paxton, searching for her first convert, is especially and cloyingly fervent in asking strangers on the street if they’d like to hear about Jesus. This mission takes them to the home of Mr. Reed (Grant), who welcomes them in and challenges their devotion with his knowledge of their own religion and really all Western religions. The sisters are elated that they have found someone so open to discussion and knowledgeable. But things take a dark turn because of a blueberry pie candle, and the sisters realize they are trapped in the house.
This kind of psychological thriller with religious overtones is right up my alley as far as taste goes. The story has a great set up and superb pacing; there was never a time when I got bored or felt the story was moving too fast. The acting was also spot on. Grant is especially good as Mr. Reed. He toes the line gracefully between bumbling, almost apologetic charm and menacing manipulation. Sister Paxton’s realization, prompted by the presence of their bike lock on a door in the house, was especially chilling.
I only had two issues with the story of the movie. First, the house. It is an elaborate labyrinth and I can only wonder: who the hell built this house and why. It seems perfectly suited to Mr. Reeds’ purposes, but the house seems too old to have been constructed recently. Second, Mr. Reed has no motivation for doing what he’s doing. There’s an allusion to Mrs. Reed, but it’s never expanded upon. While I agree that motivations can be incidental (thank you, Randy), the best villains have identifiable, even sympathetic, motives. Without it, Mr. Reed is just another asshole using religion as a guise to subjugate and control women, no matter how good Grant is in the role.
But the movie walks us down the dark hallway of suspension of disbelief, wanting to believe that that smell is fresh blueberry pie in the oven, even if we know it’s not.
It’s a good movie and I strongly recommend it.
The Chimerical Dark 