Heretic has finally been released in theaters as part of the 2024 movie schedule, and oh god, I need to talk about it.
If you know me, you’d know that I’m pretty much the biggest supporter of A24’s best horror movies. For years, I have gone on record saying that A24 doesn’t mess around with their films. And while there are some great A24 movies overall to check out, their horror entries are some of the best out there – if not the best, in my eyes.
To me, Ari Aster’s Midsommar and Hereditary, as well as Talk To Me, The Witch, and so many others rank incredibly high on my list of the best horror films ever. I really think Heretic can be on that list now.
While I wouldn’t consider it as horrifying as other A24 films, I can openly say that it hits the mark dead-on, and you will be biting your nails in suspense as the movie goes on. But there’s one thing I have to talk about that is still scaring me even now, and that’s Hugh Grant’s villain in the film. Let’s get into exactly why he’s the best part of this movie.
The Movie, Overall, Is Petrifying, Down To The Bone
So, I’ll begin by saying that Heretic is a great horror film overall. It is petrifying and one of those films that I would consider a slow-burn horror. It doesn’t jump directly into the scares. Instead, it takes a bit to build up to them over a period of time, which genuinely makes you start questioning everything in the movie.
We learn about our two leads, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two missionaries from the Church of Latter-Day Saints (otherwise known as the Mormon Church), who knock on the door of Mr. Reed, a seemingly ordinary man who invites them into his home and despite doing everything right, everything goes wrong for these two girls as time goes on – and there’s nothing we can do about it as you watch it all crumble.
Granted, I don’t think this was as scary or traumatizing as some other horror films I have seen, but I would gladly say that Heretic ranks up there with another 2024 favorite of mine, Longlegs, because it’s that kind of horror that makes you think, analyze, and scare at the same time.
However, the big winner of this film is Mr. Reed. And here’s why.
The Idea That These Kinds Of People Exist Out There Is What Makes It More Horrifying
Mr. Reed is the kind of horror movie villain that, when you think about it, isn’t scary at first until he is.
He’s so typical when he opens the door, a man who's curious about religion, who genuinely seems like he wants to speak to the girls and learn more, inviting them in for drinks and asking all the right questions. But it’s when he starts to share his own opinion, showing how much he knows, that we begin to see the man that’s behind the mask.
A true control freak, if you will.
Mr. Reed is horrifying because these kinds of people exist out there. Granted, it might not be to this extent, where they built an entire house dedicated to what they believe in and staged things to control people, but there are some people out there who are so set in their ideals and beliefs that it permanently alters who they are.
The term “falling down the rabbit hole” doesn’t exist for no reason. I’ve had to stop myself several times from falling down metaphorical rabbit holes of sorts when something fascinates me, but I get way too deep. However, Mr. Reed is the perfect embodiment of that.
He's a person who dug too deep, too quickly, and made it their entire personality. He plans to show that to everyone, regardless of whether it hurts someone or not. His religion is controlled, and all faiths were built with this innate need to control people. And now, he pushes that belief onto Paxton as she tries to survive.
Again, while I doubt there’s someone out there with a maze-like house like Mr. Reed, he feels… a little too real.
He’s Not The Typical Horror Movie-Villain
When you think of a horror movie villain, I’m sure there are plenty that you think of. You could bring up Michael Myers from the Halloween films, Freddy Kreuger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, or perhaps Jigsaw from the Saw franchise.
Either way, any of these horror movies I mention have pretty iconic villains, but the main thing that makes them all similar is that most tend to crave violence and death. Some are just psychopaths who want to torture people. Others are serial killers intent on revenge. But either way, you can tell what they want the moment you meet them.
But you can’t do that with Mr. Reed. He’s an entirely average-seeming dude when we first come across him, and even as the movie goes on, we still don’t know what he wants. Does he want to kill the girls? Does he want to assault them? Does he want to turn them into enslaved people? Does he want to educate them? What does he want?
And that’s what makes Mr. Reed so scary as well – the fact that we don’t know him. Other horror movie villains, as fun as they are, are so easy to read, but not Mr. Reed because he looks normal until he’s not, until we finally see what he indeed does at the end of the movie.
That, my friends, is how you build an antagonist with nuance, with personality, and with terror.
There’s A Beauty In His Subtle Horror That Other Horror Movies Should Learn From
There is absolutely a beauty within Mr. Reed’s subtle horror that I hope other horror movies can learn from.
There are times when those slasher flicks are enjoyable to watch. I’m not saying movies like Terrifier or any of those films that aim to disgust you with their villains should become like Mr. Reed. However, I will say that a lot more of those subtle horror films can learn from Grant’s performance.
If you want to make a truly terrifying horror movie villain, make him friendly. Make him so lovely and so typical that you can’t even tell if he’s good or not. Add those little nuances that make you question everything and cause you to wonder if what he’s saying has a double meaning or not.
Because those are the kinds of people we see in real life, while films are known as a means of escapism, sometimes, the scariest thing we can face mirrors our own reality, and in many ways, Heretic does. Other horror films could do the same.
I do think that Heretic certainly takes the cake as one of the best horror films of 2024, and if you have a friend who is thinking of seeing it, drag their butt to the theater because I guarantee you, they will enjoy the heck out of it – and probably want blueberry pie right after.
