Heretic (2024) | Review

Heretic is what happens when your most insufferable college philosophy major kidnaps two Mormon missionaries and won’t stop talking about how he’s “figured it all out, man.” And somehow, against all odds, it actually works… until it doesn’t.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the masterminds behind the screenplay for A Quiet Place, apparently decided their next mission was to make the chattiest horror movie possible—like they’re doing penance for all that silence. The result is a theological thriller that’s one part “God’s Not Dead,” two parts 10 Cloverfield Lane, and a dash of that time you got cornered at a party by someone who just discovered atheism and really, really needs you to know about it.

Speaking of which, who knew Hugh Grant could be this deliciously unhinged? Trading in his charming rom-com stutters for religious debate throwdowns, Grant plays Mr. Reed, essentially the final boss of skeptic trolls. Whether he’s comparing world religions to Monopoly (yes, really) or inexplicably channeling his inner Jar Jar Binks (also yes, really), Grant steals every scene like it’s a Joseph Smith golden plate. His performance is so magnetic you almost forget you’re watching a horror movie—which, as it turns out, might be part of the problem.

Our two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) do their best to survive both physical peril and Grant’s endless monologuing. They’re like final girls in a slasher film, except instead of running from a masked killer, they’re trapped in history’s most aggressive theological debate club. Thatcher plays Sister Barnes as the street-smart one who’s definitely seen an R-rated movie or two, while East’s Sister Paxton is exactly what you’d expect from someone whose cultural exposure begins and ends with church-approved content.

The first half is genuinely gripping stuff—think Saw meets Religious Studies 101. The film flexes its intellectual muscles with surprising grace, turning discussions about religious history into psychological warfare. There’s a particularly brilliant sequence involving the origins of Monopoly (all joking aside, it’s actually a pretty clever analogy) that somehow makes board game history terrifying and scores points for feminism in contrast to LDS doctrine.

But then the third act hits, and it’s like the movie forgot it was supposed to be scary and not just a very intense TED talk. The basement scenes should be terrifying, but they’re more like that moment when you’re stuck at dinner with a relative who won’t stop explaining their conspiracy theories, and you’re checking your watch under the table. Even when things get bloody, the film keeps circling back to more philosophical debates like a dog with a dogma bone it just won’t drop.

Beck and Woods clearly have big ideas, and they’re not afraid to tackle heavy themes. Their script handles religious discourse with surprising nuance, managing to critique belief systems without turning completely mean-spirited. But somewhere between the parlor debates and the dungeon despair, they forget to amp up the actual horror and suspense. It’s like they brought a thesis statement to a knife fight.

Is it worth seeing? If you’re the kind of horror fan who enjoys their scares with a side of intellectual discourse, absolutely. But maybe wait until it hits streaming services. That way, you can pause for bathroom breaks during Grant’s longer sermons… I mean, monologues. Plus, you can fact-check all those religious history references he keeps dropping without missing anything.

Bottom line: Heretic is a brainy thriller that eventually talks itself in circles, kind of like that philosophy major after their third espresso. The first half deserves a hallelujah, but the second half might have you praying for the end credits roll. Still, Hugh Grant as a religious studies supervillain? That’s worth a watch, even if you’re not quite ready to convert to full-blown fandom.