In Heretic, two Mormon missionaries visit an Englishman living by himself in the United States. Source: Australian Catholics.
The young female missionaries – Sister Barnes (Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (East) – call at an isolated dwelling in the American woods. They are drawn into an intense conversation with Reed (Grant), the person who lives there.
The film plays provocatively with all religious belief. The two women find themselves drawn into a game of survival in Reed’s mysterious house. They visit him eager to talk about their Mormon beliefs, and they speedily become victims of his pathological manipulations.
Grant is well known for his mannerisms of warmth and good cheer. Such are evident in the film, but any semblance of friendship on his part is completely deceptive.
He discusses religion at a personal and theological level with the two women, and challenges them by communicating his conviction that their religion is built around the desire to “control” its believers.
Every religion, he says, is an exercise in “control”, and he pressures the women to “prove” their faith.
Consistent with all religious belief, the film addresses the influence of a higher power over human behaviour, and asks what will happen when humans are no longer able to believe in such a power.
Reed confronts the women, telling them they are forced by their beliefs to accept whatever they are told, and he exposes them to brutal tests of their faith.
Reed’s home becomes a threatening place; it arouses fear and panic, and its dark hallways and staircases traumatise the two women.
A more telling impact comes from what the film’s directors Beck and Woods imply about the human condition: Is human thought and direction in religion really “controlled” by the act of believing, and what effect does that have on believers?
This is a film that raises questions it doesn’t answer, but it uses horror imagery with great force. It viciously attacks all forms of religious belief in a strongly acted and scripted way.
Heretic: Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East and Elle Young. Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. Rated MA15+ (Strong themes and violence). 110 minutes.
FULL REVIEW
Heretic (Australian Catholics)
