Heretic
by Eric Lindbom
Once in a blue (or full) moon, a casting decision evokes flat-out curiosity. That chill of anticipation struck when I first saw Hugh Grant headlining HERETIC (in theaters). Sure, he’s been ‘bad’ before. Rakish, romantic cads were a specialty in his younger days, and he’s been a killer or an employer of one in mini-series like THE UNDOING and A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL. Yet, HERETIC is full-on horror, not a did-he-do-it variation of a whodunnit. I needed to know if he was playing in a down-and-dirty key we wouldn’t expect or just slumming.
Grant’s Mr. Reed, gracious and self-effacing, wears cozy sweaters that spell “c’mon in” to the pair of young Mormon missionaries responding to his stated interest in the Church of Latter Day Saints. Sophie Thatcher’s Sister Barnes is worldly with a secret and Chloe East’s Sister Paxton seeps wide-eyed innocence. Since we know he’s trouble, the early fun is how he initially disarms these door knockers with rumpled wit and casual air.
Reed calmly asks about their beliefs before bringing up the sticky wicket of polygamy (‘drum roll please,” he laughs). Not dupes, the Sisters soon smell something fishy but feign politeness hoping to talk their way out of the house. He gamely deflects their percolating worries – where is the wife he claims exists and why does some technical kink in his front door lock them in for the night? As it becomes clear he’s a caustic unbeliever, his captives hold their own in the arguments (in a happy accident unknown to the filmmakers, both Thatcher and East have some Mormon roots and no doubt encountered their share of skeptics). After Reed knows THEY know he’s dangerous, he subjects them to rigged and gory challenges to test their faith.
When applied to horror, the term thought-provoking usually means smart practitioners use the genre to sneak in contemporary fears and social issues amidst jump scares and kinetic carnage. HERETIC is a completely different animal- — methodically paced and spiked with rhetorical parrying that is more theologically probing, well-thought-out, and gripping than a Jesuit cage match.
The co-writing and co-directing team of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods are known for the breakout humanistic horror hits A QUIET PLACE and A QUIET PLACE II (both co-written with John Krasinski). Their stage-worthy script shows unexpected depth and the dialogue stings and sings. Yet, to call HERETIC talky is like accusing David Mamet of leaning too heavily on chat. It’s not small praise to note these early rising action scenes transcend the terrors to come in the basement neither Sister wants to enter. The film is set almost completely in Reed’s lair, including several dank spaces (brought to life, well to death, by production designer Philip Messina). Avoiding manic camera work, cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung (famed for the original version of OLDBOY) has a Polanski-like ability never to make the proceedings remotely claustrophobic.
Beck and Woods, at a screening Q&A, noted they toyed with their premise on and off starting 12 years back. Somehow their research never turns academic. For instance, when discussing how some ancient religions had tropes later purloined by Christianity, hermit Reed proves he’s not pop illiterate. He uses the analogy of how the Hollies’ “All I Need is the Air That I Breathe” begat Radiohead’s “Creep” which begat Lana Del Rey’s “Get Free” (amid related plagiarism complaints).
That type of smart, sparky talk was catnip that helped lure Grant (whom the filmmakers insisted was their only choice from several big-name suitors). He brings a level of class this first-rate horror thriller more than lives up to.
Eric Lindbom is a hardcore horror buff with a strong stomach, weaned on the Universal classics from the ’30s and ’40s. He’s written film and/or music reviews for City Pages, Twin Cities Reader, LA WEEKLY, Request magazine and Netflix. He co-edits triggerwarningshortfiction.com, a site specializing in horror, fantasy and crime short stories with illustrations by co-editor John Skewes. He lives in Los Angeles.
