Night Visions: Heretic

Religious horror is difficult to get right. On some level, no matter what the approach, the result is often more reductive than it is enlightening. After all, it's a topic we as a species have grappled with since our inception: What are we here for? Any answer spoken will never satisfy everyone.

But what if that was the approach? That the answers themselves are deeply unsatisfying? What if the true horror is not in the answers themselves, but the people asking the questions? That is at the heart of Heretic, a wickedly smart and devilishly clever chamber piece that toys with audience expectations and beliefs beautifully.

Anchored by a terrifying and scene-stealing performance from Hugh Grant, Heretic is an absolute blast of a horror thriller that only just outstays its welcome. Trim ten minutes out of the length, and we'd be talking about an instant classic. As of now, it's simply one of the best films of the year.

The setup is deceptively simple: Two Mormon girls, Sisters Paxton (Chloe East) and Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), make the rounds for new converts. Their final stop for the day is Mr. Reed, a charming oddball at the outskirts of town. His wife is making pie, and he's simply delighted the girls made their way to him.

Except nothing is as simple as that, and soon Paxton and Barnes find that Mr. Reed is more knowledgeable of not just Mormonism, but theism in general, and has horrific plans to prove his monstrous theories about life, the universe, and everything.

How things unfold is best left a mystery. Which means ignore the trailers and go in as blind as you can. Suffice to say, this not a film with an Idiot Plot. Instead, everything that happens feels natural and logical within the confines of the established world.

As a reminder, an Idiot Plot is something which can only happen as long as everyone in the film acts like an idiot. Should someone at any point behave with even a morsel of logic, the whole thing falls apart.

In Heretic, the girls try to use their phone, they try to pick locks, they bargain, plead, and actively pursue their freedom. By smartly devising worse outcomes for every attempt, the filmmakers smartly keep us engaged with their plight. Like a demented game of Mouse Trap, I wanted to see how our heroines could get out of the next situation. I squirmed in my seat hoping for their salvation. Heretic does what most films of this genre fail to do: It made me care about the characters.

Thatcher and East make for a tremendous leading pair. These are well-rounded, whole characters, who never feel like caricatures for slaughter. Even Paxton's constant appeal to authority feels natural, and gains some of the biggest laughs in the film.

Heretic is a tremendous addition to an already stacked year for horror films. It's a smart, often witty, and always terrifying exploration of fascinating themes that never underestimates its audience. Despite its claustrophobic setting, it rejects gimmickry. Every time you think you know where the story is going, Heretic pulls the rug from under your feet.

It's one of the best films of the year, and yet another showcase for A24 as the premiere makers of genre cinema today.