150 Word Review: 'Heretic' (2024)
Blueberry thrill
Horror movies, like comedy, are built on surprises: pies in the face and killers jumping out from the shadows. Director Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Heretic is full of surprises, most notably, the lack of bloodshed until more than halfway through this suffocating re-telling of Hansel & Gretel about two straight-laced Mormon missionaries knocking on the wrong door.
Heretic is also surprising because it's more than just a movie about young women trapped in a murder house; it's an exploration of the nature of religion. The dialogue is sharp and studded with pop culture references, but there's an underlying conversation about death and free will.
Hugh Grant is our grinning, pie-loving villain, and he's so good it’s easy to forgive that a stuttering, charming Englishman lives and lurks somewhere in the mountains of Middle America. Our heroes, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, are likable and flawed. Their faith is tested.
One of the best surprises of the year. Loved it.
1) I don't think I'll ever have blueberry pie again without thinking of this movie.
2) Whatever you think of the LDS, it was interesting to see Mormon women portrayed in a non-stereotypical way for a change.
3) Hugh Grant makes a superb villain.