Heretic 2024
Greetings to Fans of Religious Thrillers
Today we’re diving into a fresh release—Heretic. From the brief description, I gathered that we’re in for a chamber piece filled with sharp religious debates, possibly unexpected twists, and an intense finale. My expectations for this film are high, so let’s dive in.
What happens when someone questions all religions and creates their own?
The story begins with two young women sitting on a bench, discussing pornography and genitalia. A blonde with glasses is deeply moved by watching amateur porn, so much so that she concludes God exists, and we have souls. A strange conclusion, indeed. But watching porn is apparently not enough—she believes she must convert others to her newfound faith. As typical cultists, they attempt to preach to strangers on the street about their “true church.” Unsurprisingly, no one is interested. Oddly, these two nuns look more like they’ve just stepped off a fashion runway or adult film set—far too attractive and provocative to take seriously.
Heretic 2024 - Let me introduce you to beautiful nuns: sisters Paxton and Barnes. They will come to your house and gladly speak about God. What you gonna do?
Today, they aim to visit an elderly man, Mr. Reed, in hopes of converting at least him. Leaving their bicycles outside, they head toward his secluded house. A storm brews, bringing cold, torrential rain. The blonde is Sister Paxton, and the brunette is Sister Barnes. Mr. Reed is an elderly gentleman who, intrigued by their church, invited them over. Paxton, noticeably nervous, jumps straight into indoctrination, but Reed seems skeptical. However, he invites them inside to shelter from the rain, assuring them he’s alone at home, so they won’t be breaking any vows by entering.
Heretic 2024 - Sisters Paxton and Barnes thought that this will be an easy to convince old man to join their cult. They were wrong.
Inside, Reed serves drinks but laments that his wife won’t join them. Reed expresses a keen interest in finding the “right” religion, while the sisters share stories of their unwavering faith and lifelong devotion to God. Reed impresses Sister Paxton with his knowledge of the Mormon Church, even pulling out a Book of Mormon. Paxton’s innocence and naivety shine through as she dreams aloud about returning as a butterfly after death. Then the power flickers, plunging the house into semi-darkness, and Reed begins to ask uncomfortable questions.
Heretic 2024 - Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed plays his role perfectly. I really trust in this character and his point of view on life and religion.
“How do you feel about polygamy?” he inquires. The sisters fumble through basic doctrinal explanations, but Reed counters with a provocative argument: Joseph Smith, the Mormon founder, allegedly exploited religious justification to satisfy his sexual desires. Reed adds that churches often brainwash their followers for their own ends. Reed delves into his research comparing various modern religions, likening them to fast-food chains like Burger King or Taco Bell. “At 50, I was fed up with religious fast food. None of these religions or cults gave me the truth I sought,” he explains. But then he adds chillingly: “Unfortunately, I found it.”
The sisters grow increasingly anxious, repeatedly asking to meet Reed’s wife, hoping to escape the house under this pretext. As they try to leave, they realize their coats and bike keys are missing. The front door won’t open, and strange sounds echo from deeper in the house. Snow rages outside, and their calls for help go unanswered. With no choice, the sisters venture further into the house to find Reed. He greets them in his study, calmly explaining that the front door won’t open until morning. The sisters, terrified, accuse him of lying about his wife and the phone call they made from the church.
Heretic 2024 - Mr. Reed explaining the essence of all religions on example of board game Monopoly.
Reed laughs and sarcastically asks the sisters not to overdo it with their sweet little lies. However, Mr. Reed is willing to help them strengthen their faith and make a choice. To do this, he pulls out a Monopoly board game, gives a brief overview of its rules, and even plays some decent music to set the mood. He also takes out another board game—Landowner—which is almost identical to Monopoly. An interesting fact he shares is that the creator of Monopoly, Charles Darrow, actually stole the idea from Elizabeth Magie, an American feminist. While Darrow became a millionaire, Magie died in poverty—a tragic story indeed.
Reed then lays out three board games on the table, aligning them with three symbols: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He places the Book of Mormon over the Bible. His central point is that all these books and religions are essentially copies of the same original text, just interpreted differently. They distort the message and alter the original. According to him, Judaism is the primary source and original idea, but it has very few followers compared to its iterations, like Mormonism and Islam. And why is that? Reed explains that Judaism simply doesn’t have as much "advertising." There aren’t figures like Sisters Paxton and Barnes, who act as marketing agents, going door to door offering salvation and a better life through one religious doctrine or another.
Heretic 2024 - "This is only the question fate. Are you ready to witness the true miracle?"
The sisters, unfortunately, had the bad luck of encountering a client as well-informed and persuasive as Mr. Reed, who has his own ideology and is determined to sell it to them. Reed’s philosophy boils down to this: religion is a system of control. He asserts that blind faith, like the sisters’ belief in God, is an illusion imposed upon them. His questions unsettle the sisters further, especially as Paxton begins doubting her faith. When Reed presents two doors labeled “Belief” and “Unbelief,” Sister Barnes panics, suspecting they’re trapped for good.
Reed takes the sisters to a basement where he reveals his “prophetess” lying in a trance. He claims she will soon resurrect and share visions of the afterlife. To demonstrate, he poisons her, expecting a miracle. The sisters, horrified, attempt to escape but find themselves locked in with Reed’s sinister experiment. The prophetess eventually revives, vomiting blood and declaring, “There’s nothing on the other side.” Reed offers the sisters a chance to witness the truth: they must die and be resurrected like the prophetess. Sister Barnes confesses a childhood near-death experience and describes seeing nothingness, confirming the prophetess’s claim. But Reed’s experiment takes a fatal turn when he kills Barnes, only to dissect her body in search of a mysterious implant. Paxton, desperate to survive, discovers hidden doors and a shocking secret: Reed’s prophetesses are women he’s enslaved and brainwashed.
Heretic 2024 - Sister Barnes losing no hope to escape from creepy basement of Reed's house.
Eventually, the girl discovers a hidden hatch under the table. She suspects there’s a body down there and decides to investigate. Descending into the hatch, she finds herself in an even creepier, semi-flooded area with a door adorned with a symbol of Judaism. Entering the room, she opens a red door marked with Islamic symbols. The walls ooze with water, and books are scattered everywhere. The final door is locked, but she remembers the key in her pocket and hurriedly unlocks it. Beyond the door, she discovers a room filled with cages, each containing women dressed in cloaks. It’s likely these are the "prophetesses" of Mr. Reed. He follows her down and asks a chilling question: What is the true religion? Sister Paxton speculates that Reed deliberately went outside, hid the bicycles, placed the keys in a different coat, and instructed one of the prophetesses to lock the last door. Impressed by her deductive reasoning, Reed eagerly asks why she thinks he did all that. His philosophy is revealed: the only true religion is the control of everything. He agrees that religion is merely a system of control.
Reed demonstrates his complete dominance over the women in the cages, even severing one of their fingers to prove his power. Since Sister Paxton has lived her life guided by the thoughts and ideas of others, Reed claims it was easy to predict her actions. However, there was one thing he failed to foresee. When he utters the phrase “magic pantaloons,” he’s suddenly met with a knife to the throat. Seizing the opportunity, Sister Paxton escapes. She blocks the basement door, but as she enters another room, Reed stabs her in the stomach.
Heretic 2024 - Today the power of faith of sister Paxton came through true challenge and seems to strengthen even more than ever.
Laughing maniacally, the maniac watches as life drains from her. He mockingly advises her to pray for them both. Weak but defiant, she recounts a study about sick patients—some prayed for, others not—and how the outcome remained unchanged. Yet, the very act of being able to pray for someone, she says, is already something beautiful.
As Reed crawls toward her, attempting to slit her throat while she prays for them both, his plans are violently interrupted. A stick with nails strikes him down. Sister Barnes rises from the dead, using her last ounce of strength to save her friend, then collapses beside her.With sheer willpower, the girl drags herself out of the house. Against the backdrop of a frosty forest and a blazing sun, a butterfly lands on her hand. Could it be the soul of Sister Barnes?
Final Thoughts
After finishing the movie, I was genuinely stunned and, for a while, couldn’t even articulate the satisfaction I felt. This was simply a fantastically good film—one where you have to listen, think, and draw your own conclusions. It’s rare for such contained films, with one or at most two locations, to captivate so strongly.The story revolves around three central characters, with the roles of others being so minimal that they’re hardly worth mentioning. The entire plot unfolds within Mr. Reed’s house. There’s little in the way of action or major events—aside from an intense murder and a tense chase scene at the very end. So, what made this film resonate so deeply with me?For me, it was the philosophical musings of the main character, Mr. Reed. Yes, I consider him the protagonist, even though he could be labeled the antagonist. The two nuns—Sisters Paxton and Barnes—pale in comparison to him and are utterly overshadowed.
Heretic 2024 - Cold rain, lead clouds and lonely house in woods. A great start of the day.
The movie presents two opposing viewpoints:
On one side, we have the two sisters, who fully believe in the ideals of their church. They adhere to its dogmas and rules, convinced that recruiting new followers is essential for spreading enlightenment. They never doubt that they are doing righteous work.
On the other side stands Mr. Reed, who challenges all their arguments. He likens the church to a global commercial organization that parasitizes the original ideas, engages in self-promotion, and, as a result, profits immensely. Reed doesn’t believe in any religion because he sees them all as stemming from the same source, just repackaged differently. He proves this systematically and with clear examples.
Personally, I’ve often thought along similar lines. As we know, one of the most powerful and wealthiest organizations in the world is the Vatican. Realizing that all religions are essentially copies of one another, Reed decides to create his own religion. Naturally, the sisters dislike his ideas, and even his staged miracle fails to impress them.In the finale, the so-called antagonist delivers a remarkably rational statement: the essence of every religion is to control people. Naïve Sister Paxton clings to her belief in all things good, denying the darker truths, but she simply doesn’t see the world for what it is.
Heretic 2024 - I was really happy that this film didn't use a standard cliche for scary movies and hold intrigue till the end.
Let’s break it down together: take the commandments, for example. On one hand, if a person follows them, they won’t harm others, kill, steal, or commit outright vile acts. But on the other hand, holy scriptures impose countless restrictions on individuals, dictating how they should live, whom they can be with, how they can sleep, and even how much they should eat. What is this if not a tool for controlling the masses? The church also asserts that without them, there is no connection to God. But isn’t God in each of us? Must we communicate with the divine only in a specially constructed building? If you watch this film carefully and analyze what the characters say, you’ll reach many somber conclusions about religion, the afterlife, and our society—which has been subjected to various forms of control for centuries. The Heretic illustrates faith and religion as instruments of that control.
Not long ago, we reviewed the movie Kingdom of Heaven, where people committed mass killings in the name of Christ and the Christian church. However, if you read the Bible and other sacred texts, you’ll realize that these calls for violence were often just a front for the vile and greedy actions of those in power. If I were to summarize my thoughts, I’d say I loved this movie. I enjoy chamber films where events unfold in a single location. This one had no bad characters, its dialogues were well-thought-out and engaging, and the issues it raised were bold enough to potentially spark waves of criticism. But that’s precisely why the film grips your attention and generates such interest.
Heretic 2024 - It is hard to make a right choice when someone make pressure on you. Even true faith could be broken and looks can be deceiving.
Unfortunately, I fear this movie won’t achieve significant box office success worldwide. Many might dislike its minimal action and dialogue-heavy approach. However, I believe films like this are essential from time to time to make us think critically about how our world truly functions. They challenge us to reconsider fundamental truths, view them from new perspectives, and question what we’ve believed to be immutable since childhood.
That is all for today. I hope you liked this short review and give this film a shot. See you next time!
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