As a teenager, I didn’t think much about genre. I thought it was only relevant to marketing a film, not a film itself. While there still might be some truth to my adolescent presumptions, I have since encountered two films where the handling of genre was an issue for me; Heretic and Big Hero 6 (yeah, that one).  

Heretic can work as a solid little thriller you can watch on a weekday evening but its attempts at horror almost dilute its overall effort.

Mormon missionaries Barnes and Paxton (Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East) enter the home of Mr Reed (Hugh Grant). What starts as a friendly theological discussion escalates to a deadly test of faith. Reed traps the two women in his labyrinthine home and forces them to partake in a transcendent social experiment that’ll apparently reveal the ‘true religion.’

The Characters

If you’re like me and you didn’t hear about Mormonism until you saw it on South Park and The Book of Mormon, then you’ll find Barnes and Paxton quite compelling as leads.

They are outcasts in the modern world, not just as Mormons but as religious people. They know how unpopular their faith is and how difficult it is to persuade others to join. They don’t have any unresolved trauma or relationship issues, they’re just two people who genuinely want to keep religion alive. You can’t help but sympathize with them.

Mr Reed is undoubtedly the star of the show, in one of Hugh Grant’s greatest villain performances. He has the charm and warmth you’d associate with Grant but his interest in theology gradually borders obsession. It becomes apparent to Barnes and Paxton that he knows more about faith than they do. He explains how he’s dedicated his life to examining all the religions in the world with the purpose of finding the perfect one.

The feeling Reed instils in his guests is similar to what Bill Skarsgård and Georgina Campbell experience in 2022’s Barbarian. They can tell that Reed is trying to not make them feel uncomfortable but by doing so he does just that. He’s not as scary or intimidating as some reviews claim but he’s definitely uncomfortable to watch.

The Horror

Heretic has a few jump scares and one or two bloody bits. Beyond that, it’s a theological thriller. So much so, it begs the question of whether the jump scares and gory bits were necessary. Besides, the long awkward dialogue scenes induce a lot more discomfort. They’re the moments that will stick with you, not the split-second jumps and blood spills.

As much as I enjoyed it, Heretic has proven to be a good lesson in genre. For me anyways. If the film wanted to be a horror/thriller then it needed to adjust its style accordingly and not just leave it at a jump scare or two.

Horror aside, as a thriller Heretic is a great time. I recommend it.

I give it a complimentary 8 out of 10.