HERETIC: Which is the one and only religion?

What would have happened if that Jeronimo from the past—the atheist and agnostic version of myself— had given those two evangelist women who knocked on the door of his prior house every Sunday incisively until someone would open the opportunity to talk about Jesus and all his story? Actually, what would have happened if that same Jeronimo had given them the chance to step inside with mysterious warmth, had offered them something to drink and had tried to convince them that everything they believed was fake, that there's no such ultimate God and that all religions—not only Catholicism—are the biggest lie human beings ever invented? This tiny chance materializes in the first twenty minutes of Heretic. Produced by the unmistakable a24, this movie is the new intriguing, terrifying and completely thoughtful experience offered by the directing duo composed of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

This is the story of two Sisters, Paxton and Barnes (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher), two missionaries with different tendencies and thoughts, strolling through a beautiful mountainous city looking for new members to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—or rather, Mormonism. From the beginning, there's a twistedly comic tone by which we witness dialogues between them about pornography and a society that makes fun of them for their moral beliefs, in which everyone seems to be disconnected in a certain way from religion and the values it tries to set. I have a strong belief—ironic, right?—that human beings gradually have been losing their interest in religion for several reasons, but I dare to assert that the main one is the extreme individualism everyone has nowadays.

Social media invites us to believe that we own our and other's lives to the point we believe we're gods, replacing this collective idea that an entity or human being—like, for example, Jesus Christ, Muhammad or Buddha—can give us the happiness we desperately long for. I have always wonder: isn't religion just a simple doctrine solely used to cover humans' worst miseries and insecurities? My thinking seems reductionistic, but I'm simply basing myself on facts. Religion is pristine and imperfect, like human beings, and nothing more than a mere reflection of our nature. Up until this point, everything seems logical since we are the ones who handle religion and there's no superior being who makes all our daily decisions. But where do we place greed, lust and sloth? These are the sins that even the religion's representatives commit daily in the dark corners of our establishments.

Some of the thoughts I'm writing down—sorry if I offend those who may take them personal—are introduced in this peculiar and mysterious suspense film with the sinister and, simultaneously, charismatic presentation of Mr. Reed—played by Hugh Grant in his best role of the last 20 years. Sisters Paxton and Barnes knock on the door of Reed's warm home thinking he may be a potential Mormon member. The religious symbolism which can be interpreted from some of Beck and Woods' creative decisions is interesting. For example, the sudden shift in weather when the Sisters arrive at Reed's home, going from absolute sunshine to a storm apparently out of a catastrophe film, as if announcing the arrival of an apocalypse.

"We can't come inside unless another woman is present", Sister Barnes says while Sister Paxton looks at Mr. Reed with her innocent smile after being invited inside. Mr. Reed answers with charisma: "My wife is home, does that count? [...] She has pie in the oven." The Sisters step inside. The door closes. The nightmare begins. Everything is about faith and intuition. The parallelism between religion and horror is perfectly established: do we blindly believe in others because an external force tells us that person is "good" or should we trust our gut? Sister Barnes seems the most skeptical one since she's presented as a broken person looking out of the corner of her eyes who doesn't completely trust Mr. Reed. Who's this man? Why did it take him so long to open the door? Why isn't his wife pitching in? Heretic challenges conventions since nothing is as it seems.

Feeling that a movie can guide us places we've never been is beautiful. Seeing something new and innovative that invites us to question our reality is also a beautiful feeling. In the last few years, horror cinema has given us some of the best experiences, starting a reconstruction journey in which we aren't just attracted to the mere "boo", but also to several films that address scary themes—not just stories. In Heretic, the horror lies in knowing that someone else can shape our thoughts, someone wickedly enigmatic and alluring who has many more twisted plans than we think. In this movie, like in Speak No Evil's original version, the line "because you let me" has the same meaning. Mr. Reed is the faithful personification of why we should never step into a stranger's house.

The dialogue between both ladies and this—apparently—good Samaritan is slowly transformed. What starts as a pleasant conversation about the power doctrines hold turns into Reed's bitter questioning about how religion doesn't allow human beings to have control. Humanity, like Reed, is clearly out of tune with Catholicism—which made me empathize with him—and all other religions. Nonetheless, this isn't the scary part: when the famous pie never comes, Reed's wife seems fictitious and his absence is longer than expected, I knew something was wrong. The narrative tempo is perfect, specifically, in the way suspense is stretched to unbearable limits. That's the mind game that Heretic hits the jackpot with. Yes, it's a mind game between the characters, but it also comes out of the screen, making us part of an endless trick.

It would be irresponsible of me to give more details about what happens, even more since I consider myself a spectator who hates spoilers. But, on this occasion, I had to explain the elements I mentioned before, but that's it for my first recommendation. The second one? Don't believe everything you see, even a grandfather like Hugh Grant, with his enviable smile, can turn out to be the worst kind of human being. Oh, and you wanted to know which is the one and only religion? The answer may be disturbing, but to find it out you have to watch the movie.

BY JERÓNIMO CASCO

Posted on NOVEMBER 15th, 2024, 16:12 PM | UTC-GMT -3

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