Looking for a new horror Halloween favorite? Then the upcoming movie Heretic should be added onto your watchlist immediately.
Heretic, a highly-anticipated upcoming A24 horror movie, is set to be released in cinemas on the 1st of November in the UK and the 8th of November in the US. This is a great Halloween movie and has received praising views from its premiered opening at the Toronto International Film Festival at the beginning of September.
Additionally, the production company behind Heretic is the famous A24, who have created popular films such as Pricilla, Pearl, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Midsommar and so much more. A24 is a renowned company for good reason, as all of its movies are hauntingly memorable and unique. Heretic will not be an exception to this pattern.
Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East, and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, it is obvious that this movie will be profound and exciting. So get ready to put this new movie at the top of your watchlist this Halloween!
What is The Movie About?
Heretic follows the story of two Mormon girls (Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton) who, while knocking on doors to spread knowledge and awareness about their religion, meet Mr Reed. He invites them into his house under the premise of his wife cooking a pie. However, this is a trap and the two Sisters are caught up in a dangerous psychological game where they are fighting for their lives.
The house in which all this occurs is the main set of the film, and the eerieness is reflected in its maze-like structure. From what we can see from the teasers, Mr Reed has also built mechanisms into the house that present the decisions that he has set as part of a bigger puzzle. Mr. Reed states that to get out of his house, they have to go out through the back door and therefore leave Barnes and Paxton no choice but to proceed. In the most recent clip, we see Chloe East as Sister Paxton standing outside in what we can assume to be a back garden, highlighting that Mr Reed’s plans extend further than just the house.
The trailer shows that this could be a more psychological thriller, with the different tasks and choices which the girls have to make, along with the fact that Mr Reed is a professor.
In an interview with Screen Rant, director Bryan Woods sums up the psychological and intellectual background of the movie as being:
“about all of our deepest, darkest fears as it relates to what happens when we die, and our anxiety about the fact that there are so many different religions on planet Earth, many of which are beautiful. And this kind of lingering question of, “What is the one true religion, and what does it mean to believe or not believe?“”
The Cast
This movie has a small cast, with only a limited number of characters included in the plot, but that does not make the line-up any less interesting. The deep focus on these three characters will make the film more engaging and personal as you’ll connect with the characters on a deeper level.
Mr Reed is played by Hugh Grant, who having played the love interest in Rom-Coms throughout most of the 90s, has recently changed his career trajectory by playing a variety of roles. From the arrogant actor in Paddington 2 to the Oompa Loompa in Wonka, Grant’s new role gives him the opportunity to work in the horror genre. From the trailers and teasers released, Mr. Reed, from the outset, is presented as a kind and welcoming neighbor, but as we see the plot progress, flickers of eerieness work their way into his character, suggesting a hidden undertone to his personality.
Sophie Thatcher, playing Sister Barnes, is used to acting in horror movies with roles in the popular cult-horror series Yellowjackets and the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Boogeyman. In the trailer, we can already see a snippet of her great acting, especially when she realizes that the pie is a ruse to get them inside the house, and the camera zooms in onto her face.
Chloe East, playing Sister Paxton, has experience acting in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans and the werewolf mystery Wolf of Snow Hollow. We can see her acting experience in the second trailer especially, where we can see her demeanor shift from happy and naive about his annotations of the Morman religious text to horror and fear.
So, The Perfect Halloween Movie Then?
Heretic is the perfect movie to watch around Halloween, with many of the common tropes of the horror genre, such as the charming villain and the innocent victims, but with a psychological twist that will make you want to keep watching.
On IMDB, it is rated an average of 7.2 stars, and on Rotten Tomatoes, it reaches 92% and has amazing reviews from critics. Brian Tallerico’s review, in particular, describes this upcoming movie as:
“a mind game, a study in not just what stories we’re told but who has been telling us them”
He continues by stating that Heretic:
“is a horror movie about some of the most soul-rattling ideas in history, including not just that there’s nothing after death but that everything we’ve built our lives on has been a lie”
This gripping review gets to the core of the movie and suggests that this is not just an average Halloween film but a more thought-provoking horror. The trailer references tests and choices Mr Reed forces the two girls to make, like a disturbing experiment which he is overseeing. Religion is one of the main focal points of the movie and also seems to be part of the game that Mr Reed is playing as in the clips available, he writes on the doors ‘belief’ and ‘disbelief’ and has heavily annotated their religious text. Therefore, it might be assumed that the villain of Heretic is conducting a dangerous psychological experiment surrounding beliefs in religion.
Conclusion
Overall, Heretic is a movie you should definitely watch in cinemas as soon as it is released, no matter whether you are a die-hard horror fanatic, have never seen one before, or are just looking for your next favorite movie.
This movie promises immersion into thought-provoking topics with a chilling plot and incredible actors and directors, as well as excellent cinematography, with close-up shots of facial expressions to create tension and realism.
