Here is My Movie Review of Heretic
Now when it comes to this film. This is still one of my favorite films of 2024 mainly because of the performances but also the themes that are present throughout the film and this is up there with The Oddity as one of the best horror movies of 2024.
Now the storyline is really interesting Because we focus on these two sisters who are Mormons named sister Paxton and sister Barnes and They go around town trying to get people to learn about religion and then they go to the one house which belongs to this guy named Mr Reed and they decide to tell him all about their backstory and how they became Mormons and how they got into religion and at first they believe Mr Reed is this Pleasant old guy who enjoys their company But at the film progresses they learned that Mr Reed is a lot more sinister then they thought he would be. So they have to try to figure out how to escape some Mr Reed doesn't kill them and that's basically what the story is for the film. I have to say this is probably one of the most interesting storylines of any film in 2024 because yes the storyline is really disturbing but if more in the sense of who can you trust because throughout the storyline The movie makes you think about the characters religious choices and their ideologies of different types of religion.
Now the best thing about this movie is the acting because this movie essentially just has three characters throughout the majority of the film and all three actors do a magnificent job as all these characters and this is probably up there with the acting in Juror #2 as one of the best acted films of 2024.
However the actor who stole the entire show is Hugh Grant who plays our main villain Mr Reed and until we are and it's say this performance is brilliant and creepy that is play a lightweight this is probably Hugh Grant's best performance because what I like about this performance When it comes to horror movie villain performances usually the actors would go over the top and some of them will play a very subdued performance and Hugh Grant definitely Give one of my subtle and one of the most scariest performances in the film because Hugh Grant never raises his voice that much in the film he does it a couple of times but for the majority of the film he's very subdued and calm throughout the film. Now Now the character of Mr Reed is probably my favorite character in the entire film mainly because He is downright scary and really incredible Is because when your first introduce to Mr Reed he is really nice and really down to earth you know he really cares about Sister Paxton and sister Barnes you know he enjoys talking about religion with him and throughout the film he compares board games to religion the analogy is that much rather a different types of board games There's different types of religion and when he eventually snaps it is downright creepy and his motivation is that he doesn't want the sisters to leave he wants them to stay so he can twist their words and change their views on religion and I think that's a really realistic and really smart with written motivation because in real life there are people who like to twist other people's religion into their own Because some people manipulate other people's ideologies of religion can follow their religious pass rather than their own. The scenes with Mr Reed are probably some of the best moments in the film. Especially his introduction scene which is actually my favorite scene in the film because it showed that Mr Reed is pretending to be nice he puts on this nice type persona well also being a bit of a lunatic and then later on the film he snaps and tries to kill the sisters and Another scene I really enjoyed is during that same sequence he actually compared the board games to religion and at first it will confusing you're like why is this religious guy talking about board games but then as you watch the film you actually start to understand what he's referring to the board games are used at the analogy for different religions he's basically saying to the sisters a religion is not always the same there are different types of religions out there. Also the scene where he slits Sister Barnes’s throat with the knife like that is one of the most disturbing moments of the film because mystery knew that they were trying to escape so he decided to follow them into the basement and try to kill them so they wouldn't get out of his house. It does lead to some really horrifying and some really heart pounding moments throughout the film even with Mr. Reed Snaps and goes crazy. He is still able to scare the audience with everything he does throughout the film and it makes you like the character because he is such a joy to watch on screen. but you also love to hate him because of all the bad stuff he's doing to these two sisters and when he gets killed at the end it is really satisfying to see. I think Mr Reed is up there with Feyd Rautha From Dune part II. as one of best villains 2024. The chemistry between him and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East is magnificent. All three of these actors played off each other perfectly.
Now Sophie Thatcher plays Sister Barnes In the film and she gives a really powerful and captivating performance and you can tell that she is having a lot of fun and also when the character or sister Barnes has to be calm or scared. Thatcher pulled that off perfectly. Now the character of Sister Barnes is really incredible because throughout the film you can tell she's very experienced about the different types of religions and she knows that Mr Reed is just using them to twist their ideologies of religion and she is willing to stand up to Mr Reed telling him what he is doing is wrong. The scenes with Sister Barns Are tremendous because there's so many showing and haunting scenes with this character whether it is her and sister Paxton going down in the basement and they find an old lady that's been locked in that basement for a long time or her trying to stand up to Mr Reed he has telling him that Head religious ideologies don't make a lot of sense. It does lead to some really heart pounding and some Interesting moments throughout the film. The chemistry between her and Hugh Grant is incredible.
Chloe East plays Plays sister Paxton in the film and her performance is really magnificent. She does such a glorious job of giving this raw and very suspenseful fall performance as this character. Now Sister Paxton as a character is really different from Sister Barnes because Sister Barnes is a lot braver; she knows what Mr Reed is doing. Well Sister Paxton is more outgoing. Really soft and mellow and she is a true seeker. But she still wants to escape from Mr Reed. The scenes with Sister Paxton are incredible and probably some of the best moments in the film Whether it is her trying to get Mr Reed to let them out of the basement or her watching Mr Reed brutally cut her sisters throughout and killing her even the scene where she learns that Mr Reed is not a normal person it does lead to some really horrifying and some really Chilling moments throughout the film. The chemistry between her and Hugh Grant is magnificent. I still think they had perfect chemistry throughout the film.
However the best thing about the movie is of course the directed by Scott Beck and Brian Woods because they do a stellar job directing the film Because what I like about they're directing and that they do a glorious job of developing the characters especially Mr Reed Because this is a character where when you first introduce to him he seems really nice and down to earth. But then you find out that he's a little bit unstable and the way they make him is like this very intelligent religious man who uses board games to describe different religions and twists other people's religious ideologies into his own. I also Like the way they describe different religions by having Mr Reed use board games as an analogy for different religions because he's a sense we saying to the sisters that no religions are the same there's different ways people view religion and I thought that was a really smart concept by using board games and connecting them to religion and that was really incredible. Something else I really like what they did was build up because rather than having Failed jump scares The film goes for a more psychological horror approach by having the dialogue be very subtle and I also like how they build up Mr Reed's descent into madness. It is not in the sense where it's like oh he Is crazy from the start no they actually build up his to send in the madness and it is really slow and really nail biting to which and I appreciate what they are going for because Mr. Reed comes off very nice at first but then as the film progresses you see he had a couple of screws loose in his head his religious ideologies are not correct he's wording it in his own way and manipulating the two sisters. So overall I think they did a magnificent job directing this film.
So in conclusion I still really like this film mainly because of the way it tackles religion and how it shows different people's ideologies of how they view religions differently. I also really enjoy the storyline having it revolve around these two sisters named Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton meeting Mr Reed and learning about different types of religions and then finding out that he is a bit crazy and trying to escape out of his house. It is a brilliant idea and the film executes that concept perfectly. Also the acting is magnificent in particularly Hugh Grant who plays Mr Reed is easily the biggest standout of the film you get to tell that he is having a lot of fun as this character and the way he acts as Mr Reed going from this very smart and really nice elderly man But then as the film goes on he starts to become a deranged and crazy religious psychopath is really brilliant in the film The Glorious job of developing this character because Mr Reed It actually my favorite character in this film Because at first he comes off really nice but I had the film progresses You can see he goes off the rails and trying to kill the sisters. Also again there are so many memorable moments with Mr Reed whether it is his introduction scene of him explaining board games and using them to explain differed religions Is one of the best villain introduction scenes because you could view anything at that analogy for different types of religion Or just other stuff in general like for example in the movie Thunderbolts the villain the Void is actually an allegory for loneliness and depression that's what the villain represented in that film. I also liked Sophie Thatcher's performance as Sister Barnes because when the character of Sister Barnes has to be scared or Brave Thatcher pulls that off perfectly. Although the character Sister Barnes is really incredible because she is really smart she wants to stand up to Mr Reed and when she does it's actually really amazing to see her telling Mr Reed that his religious ideology is wrong and it doesn't make any sense the way he is explaining religion. Also that scene again of her explained the mystery that his religious ideologies don't make a lot of sense was a really dark and really showing moment and both her and Hugh Grant play off each other perfectly. Also Chloe East gives a really powerful and captivating performance as Sister Paxton and you can tell that she is having a lot of fun as this character. Also Sister Paxton is a really incredible character. She is a lot more outgoing and she's a lot more soft and she is seeking truth but at the same time she wants to escape from Mr Reed with her sister. Also the scenes with Sister Paxton are incredible whether it is her going in the basement with her sister or her watching Mr Reed brutally sweat her sister's throwing killing her you can see the terror and the horrified luck on her face it deadly to some really horrifying and brutal moments in the film. Also both her and Hugh Grant play off each other magnificently. I still think this movie is up there with the Oddity with Carolyn Bracken. Then I'm sure you're going to like this film as well. I give this film a 10/10.
