You Don't Want to Hang with The "Heretic"

A Radiohead “Creep” fan, sadistic killer, and theology-obsessed narcissist (who loves the sound of his own voice) runs wild, using a blueberry-scented candle and endless rambling to torment victims

Spoilers ahead. But this is a horror film whose trailer basically gives away the plot, anyway.

I had been wanting to see Heretic, [Trailer] the relatively new A24 horror film about the dangers of proselytizing Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) missionaries going door-to-door for a while, especially after hearing how utterly convincing 90s rom-com King and aughts resident lovable oompa loompa curmudgeon, Hugh Grant, was as the titular, “Heretic” and villain. Grant can do a scary villain, and for anyone who has doubts, check out his 2020 HBO 1-season thriller, The Undoing, with Nicole Kidman. He’ll put the chills in you. As Mr. Reed in Heretic, he’s channelling his signature self-effacing charm that he employed in his portrayal of Will from Notting Hill, the bombastic, larger-than-life elements of Bridget Jones’ Daniel Cleaver, and the slightly unhinged, unpredictable qualities of the previously mentioned Jonathan Fraser in The Undoing that have you second guessing if a guy this charming can also be a psycho.

The Many Faces of Hugh Grant

Heretic is now streaming on Max, available for those of us who like to get existential about prestige TV (guilty) as a way to justify paying for HBO (or is it Max now?) every month—just to sound like we graduated college with way too much debt. Odds are, we did.

“With great power comes great responsibility.” - Voltaire, Stan Lee and Mr. Reed

The Voltaire quote that Grant’s Mr. Reed character quotes to his latest unsuspecting female victims, Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), who have stopped by his house as a last stop of their day in an attempt to convert him to Mormonism, is one which our brilliant and maniacal theologian takes to heart. Mr. Reed is not just about the gruesome act of inflicting physical violence on his victims, but the mental and psychological thrill he gets from having a captive audience, literally, who can listen to his heady talk about religion.

Sister Barnes (Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (East) are en route to the heretic’s house.

In this tense, will-they-or-won’t-they-leave cat-and-mouse setup, the film’s first two-thirds thrive—Grant’s sharp performance brings the screenplay to life, while Thatcher and East match his every unpredictable move. The criticism of the Church of Latter-day Saints is high in this film, to the point of it being an indictment of the church’s doctrines. There’s a particularly memorable scene where Grant’s Reed sermonizes about “iterations,” using Monopoly as an example of how newer editions dilute the original, rendering it meaningless—much like the LDS church, which he compares to Wendy’s fast food—in a bid to insult (and challenge) the girls and impose his own ideology on them. But all of this makes for titillating, deeper faith discussions and charged scenes that keep you engaged. See two such examples below.

Mr. Reed: My concern that polygamy has no spiritual bearing whatsoever. The church’s [LDS] own history corroborates and implies this cynical brainwashing tactic.

If revelation by God is filtered through man and man is flawed and man sins and man lies then how do we know it’s true?

Sister Paxton: We know it’s real because of how it makes us feel.

Mr. Reed: Bingo. It’s our personal relationship with god that matters.That’s all that matters.

The film begins to spiral—both literally and figuratively—after the Sisters, against their better judgment, choose between two basement doors labeled “Belief” and “Disbelief.” That decision marks the true beginning of the film’s gruesome horror. The act of choosing a door, along with the discussions leading up to it, was compelling because it cleverly challenges the concept of free will and exposes the illusion of choice. The second the sisters entered Mr. Reed’s house with metal in its walls and doors automatically locked, their fate was essentially sealed. They may have suspected this, and their perpetrator definitely did.

Mr. Reed: The lies we tell ourselves - indulging ourselves because we’re afraid of the discomfort the truths bring about.

The Blueberry scented candle - telling you it’s a blueberry pie that my wife is making, when you know I have no wife.

The part that was confusing was why Mr. Reed kept female prisoners in cages, malnourished and feeble. Was it to feed an innate desire for control and worship at the Cult of Daniel, Mr. Reed? Did he get off from this? The anarchist paraphernalia lining the walls of his lair suggests a chaotic, non-conformist mindset, but comes across as poorly thought-out and lacking coherent rationale. The film completely loses its footing during the 'Great Escape' segment, asking us to believe that the dead can rise and swoop in to save the day, just because of a few heartfelt prayers. Call me a non-believer, but it all feels pointless to me.

Your religious text is merely an ornament, as hollow and capitalistic as these games [Monopoly]. - Mr. Reed being Mr. Read.

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