Heretic (2024)

"What does this have to do with us leaving?"
"Everything." 

Not a new concept to cinema, but fantastically well-done, in my opinion. The entire premise of the film is to question everything, in which this film does an excellent job of making you do — not only in the film, but afterwards as well. I'm glad to see Sophie Thatcher in her second A24 film, with Chloe East and Hugh Grant joining the A24 cult, no pun intended. I have to say, for a film that really only focuses on three roles, they all killed it (again, no pun intended) in a breathtaking way. 

The shots of this film and scenery I found stunning. I loved the outside, or at least, the little that was shown and the various scenes within Mr. Reed's home. The eerie, dark filters of the film and the raging snowstorm that's shown later on coupled with the rooms that the maze reveals towards the end is truly mindblowing. I also really enjoyed the way that the cinematography showcased focal points and conveyed the message of the plot. 

As I stated previously, the actual plot of the film was nothing new or innovative — some religious fanatic is trying to prove a point and preach his teachings to the youth; whatever. I'm not one to induldge in religious movies, especially with the recent releases that focus on the rebirth of Christ. I, myself, find these rather boring and fail to capture and keep my attention; this was not the case for Heretic, where I actually found myself immersed in the concepts that Mr. Reed was trying to teach. 

The symbolism of religion throughout the film as well as the explanations of Mr. Reed as to why he was doing the things he did (i.e., the candle, the decisions, the beliefs, the questions of "why?", etc.) were extremely well-executed, in my opinion. I enjoyed the approach this film took with showcasing religion and the people that believe in it, while not having to spoon-feed you everything in such a blatantly obvious way. 

I'm not sure how much I wound consider this film a "thriller" or "horror," but a psychological horror? Definitely. This film really makes you think after-the-fact, and I really appreciate that. I will say, despite the preachy, mansplaining vibes, The Prophet and ending scenes were really scary; I think what definitely got me the most, though, was the scene with Sophie Thatcher's character and Hugh Grant's character when the third act really starts escalating. I have no idea how they filmed that scene, but how absolutely disgusting and haunting. 

I enjoyed this film when I really went into it with little to no expectations. I figured I might as well watch Sophie Thatcher, but the three main actor's portrayals of their characters (from Sophie Thatcher's msyeterious cynicism to Chloe East's naivety, even to Hugh Grant's mainsplaining of Lana Del Rey and Radiohead) was truly impressive. Although an age-old tale of the cautions of religion, the perspective of not only "what" but "why?" I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I think the bottom line of this film is to not enter a man's home under any circumstances, again, to never trust a white man, especially one who thinks he holds the answers to the universe and wishes to "share" his knowledge, check the scents of candles when entering someone's home, and the question of "Are you a believer?" is no longer enough, when instead you should ask, "Do you know what you believe in?" A horrifying tale that stretches the limits of the mind to question not only whether or not you believe, but to question what exactly you believe in, which is a prime example showcased at the conclusion with the ending of the film — what exact ending are you beliving in as the audience? What's on screen in front of our very eyes, or what we can infer, using our minds and what we already know?