Heretic (2024) Film Review

**1/2 out of 5.

Heretic is a horror film that seeks the thrill ride of disrupting another's devotion to their belief system. This is a very common theme in horror films, but in Heretic there is a very precise and obvious mockery of foundational religion. The film uses it's main villain to demonstrate sadistic opposition to the belief systems of others.

An increasingly disturbing conversation between Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) begins with a light hearted agreability concerning the validity of Mormonism, religious devotion, and historical iterations of God. As Mr. Reed continues to escalate his invasive "truth-seeking" methodology; predictably the Sisters become concerned and start to realize they're going to have to escape.

As we delve into the psychology of a meticolous villain whom for an Unknown reason finds gruesome pleasure in dissolving and refuting orthodox religion and the followers it produces. We are left a bit short of a serious backstory for Mr. Reed. Despite that we haven't seen Hugh Grant outside of a Rom-Com in a min. I thought it'd would have been a valuable addition to the film to understand why Mr. Reed was so against God, Christianity, Judaism, and Mormonism. However; this is something that Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods left to our imagination, regardless of our curiosity to Mr. Reeds past.