It is not the thought of a zombie apocalypse, a werewolf or even a vampire that can scare one as much as having to face the truth that everything one believes in has weaknesses, and more concerning even is the fact that he could be playing games that he never even agreed to take part in. Nothing too scary in this for its fans, except the fact that Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who were working on A Quiet Place and 65, took a huge detour with their latest film, if one can put it that way, the Heretic, which is far from a typical horror film. For the most part of Heretic’s runtime, the story is a stagey-discourse between three characters having elegant philosophical debates. Yet, this error in judgment does not succeed in distracting it from its relatively self-assured axis, even as the film seems to be drawing its third clock in order to try to answer the interesting questions it raises that it seems so very inclined towards conventional horror styling.
Now it must be pointed out that Beck and Woods in creating the film Heretic are not just simply anti religious for the sake of being so. Rather they deploy this narrative to critique those individuals who have turned such belief systems into mere tools for keeping the proverbial hamsters running on the wheel for their own selfish purposes.
On such a note, two Mormons missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Sister Barnes played by Sophie Thatcher and Sister Paxton played by Chloe East, aThere is however one critical aspect the Sisters disregard on this particular day, more so they hostile their instincts and step into Mr. Reed’s house to discuss that. Here, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton think they are going to go ahead and head the conversation and get Mr. Reed and his wife in the starters of the latter day saints and their starter packs, but alas. During the opening moments of their conversation, one can tell that it is Mr. Reed who is all charged up about idea bashing and not the other way around. Rather, it looks like Mr. Reed has more knowledge about the Book of Mormon and its author Joseph Smith than them, even correcting them regarding the shifts in church stand on polygamy. For some reason, many girls even ridicule Paxton for putting on the garment that she calls ‘magic underwear.’ It appeared that the Sisters were not having the best of luck trying to find willing anatomical subjects to subject their pitch to. However, such luck is about to change because Mr. Reed, who is American been ant of exposure to the church, offered to hear them, invited them in from the rain.
As the ‘rationale’ for each side’s position is further advanced, little noticing, another story focusing on Chung-hoon’s work as a cinematographer is taking place. Heretic se busca, por lo general, encerrar a sus personajes en una casa con tantas habitaciones, y todo por supuesto tiene una concepción de vida propia. Outside, the weather is growing even more foul, and the enigma is still intact. Mr. Reed invites people into his rooms that speak of judgement to any who takes up the invitation and this is more like a cross of sophisticated and critical halls. You do not wish someone tells you that such places do not exist.
He blooms in the defeat of Mr. Reed with a ‘mould suit’. It’s of course an enjoyment for him who understands the juncture between cleverness and overkill. And he is literally out of nowhere, inside Reed’s vehement tirade, taking its very flow: Where does a game of Monopoly, fast temple fast food and a song by The Hollies from 1974 titled; The Air That I Breathe fit in a context of the notion of religion. Although this section is lightly familiar and perhaps too chatty, engaging how it is, delivering information is with so much tact and how the story has been molded by Beck and Woods. Grant does not disappoint in Heretic, proving that he still remains even worse in the performance of more of the crazy roles than is the expected after a few other superb performances.
This narrative wouldn’t ultimately work if Grant did not have great foils to his character’s arcs. This is where Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East come in – at first, they seem to be, and act, so alike that they could be clones of each other. As Heretic begins to explore the scant background offered in the film (many of which apply to Sister Barnes), it is only then that Thatcher and East start to show different sides of their characters to them – the opposite parts played by Grant’s character. The thrust of the discussion seems to tip the scales in favour of one of the women rather than the other. On the absent Beck and Woods’ defence all this happens organically and everything becomes enough dynamic to leave a room for guessing.
Heretic is perhaps the most appalling in this context as it takes the ‘easy’ way out. Instead of being true to its own anti-intellectual traditions, it resorts to classic horror methods, which allows for easier resolution. In a certain sense, this is how it has to be; it is a film and not a systemic theology, after all. The Heretic may make you think that perhaps it is not possible or never so happen like we will definitely get an answer to the question ‘what happens after we die?’
Having said that, one has a great sense of relief in realizing that this is purely a film even though there are two sides to a coin, and in this case, the film allows for the possibility that every single prayer we ever spoke is still hanging somewhere out there. Anyway, that decision will in the end be left to you and this is the part that I cannot deny is worth the journey.
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