HERETIC Review

I write this on my birthday, having just gotten back from going to the movies by myself!

My wife, you see, has abandoned me this weekend, opting instead to go to her friends' dance competition in Chicago. Which is fine; it's FINE. I knew she was going for months. But still... it's my birthday, man.

So I took it out on her by going to see a movie I know she also wanted to go see. Take that! That'll teach you to go away on my birthday.

The movie I went to see, Heretic, is the newest outing from Hugh Grant, and it's classified as a Horror/Thriller according to Google, though the latter of those two genres is much more fitting. It's the story of two twenty year old missionaries from The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints going about their town and working on conversions. One is clearly newer to the task than the other, as their dialogue unveils, but when they get to the home of the supposedly interested Mr. Reed, it seems likely that the less experienced of the two will get her first Baptism.

After a friendly introduction and warm initial conversation, it quickly becomes apparent that there is far more going on to Mr. Reed than the girls could ever imagined. And they soon find themselves trapped in his home as he challenges everything they ever believed in.

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ All three lead actors--Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East--are fantastic. It's a great reminder from Hugh Grant that he can still do so much. When last most of us saw him, he was clowning around in the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. And while his performance there was ultimately a highlight of that picture, it was mostly his just having a goof and playing for the laughs he has so often gotten throughout his career. Here, he is downright menacing. And while he has a few lines that will elicit an uncomfortable laugh, he is not going for jokes here; he is serious business.

Sophie Thatcher, of Yellowjackets fame, is used to playing a hardened, abrasive young girl. And while, of the two missionaries, she is the more thick-skinned and proud, she is also playing against type as a friendly Mormon girl out to convert others to her belief system. She is able to go toe-to-toe, and line-for-line, against Grant as his character challenges and intimidates hers, and she never flinches or fails. She delivers another stand-out performance for her young career.

And that leaves Chloe East of our three main players and taking on the role of Sister Paxton. She is the less experienced missionary of the two girls, and East plays her as both overly eager and frightfully shy. She spews her memorized diatribe about the Church as a shield to stop from having to have real conversation. She is also the character that undergoes the most transformation from beginning to end, and East portrays that change in Paxton slowly and cunningly. The growth feels natural and like a reasonable direction for Paxton to go, and that's a credit to Ms. East.

+ The story in Heretic starts off very early on, and there is little pussy-footing around going on. It's not long into the movie that Sisters Paxton and Barnes meet up with Mr. Reed, and the film gets right to work setting up the dynamic between the three of them.

And for the first two acts, this is a taut, thrilling engagement. The cat-and-mouse being played by Mr. Reed is exceptional, and the story excels at slowly building the case against his being a friendly person just interested in the girls' religion. It's so engrossing seeing them as they slowly realize what we have always known: that he is not to be trusted.

And as they reach the point where they just want to escape his home, everything ratchets up several notches, and the intensity is palpable. Everything about the early going in the film is so damn mesmerizing, and you can't help by find yourself in the movie's web. Paxton and Barnes may desperately want out, but we can't help but to want to see everything unravel around them.

- It's always a bit unsettling when, in the Ups, I'm talking about how great the first two acts are, right? Well, don't worry; the third act of Heretic hardly falls apart or ruins the movie or anything. This is a complete picture that works the whole way through.

THAT SAID... in the back half of the flick, there are some twists and turns that strain believability. For me, it wasn't anything that ruined the film, but some of the explanations we get don't always feel earned or like they could rationally happen in the universe that the movie sets up. Obviously I'm being vague for spoilers' sake, but there is a definite turn around the halfway point that changes everything, and a lot of what comes after it is a little hard to stomach.

- And that sets up our last Down here, which is simply that I think the movie's pacing is a bit off. I'd have liked more of what we got in the first half for a little longer, and in exchange for that, I'd have cut some of the back-end stuff. I just enjoyed the dire circumstances and stress of the first half than the weirdness that follows. So for me, I wish the movie had found a way to stretch the initial premise out a bit longer before we get the turn and the ensuing reveals.

OVERALL

Oh man, this is a good one, and out of the 90 new movies I have seen this year, I slotted it in at number twelve. It's powerful throughout, and while the first half of the movie is better, the back end still has a lot going for it and some shocking moments. Hugh Grant gives us yet another powerhouse horror performance in a year full of them (as much as you might consider this "horror"), and Thatcher and East match him at every turn. I definitely recommend this one if you get a chance to see it.

🍿 SCORE = 77 / 100

★★★