A horror film review by Cliff Homewood
The film starts on a park bench with a couple of girls talking as the credits start. I’m sure 70’s films did this but can’t remember the last film to, most follow Star Wars’ example (the first film not to have opening credits). Screenwriters need the knack of writing interesting dialogue and these do. Here they use the old staple of talking about sex. Then the camera pulls back to reveal more information. This is an old screenwriting template of using your opening scene to demonstrate how the film is going to roll.
The Book of Mormon is mentioned, the Mormon Church found this musical from the South Park creators a great marketing tool as people attending are more receptive to missionaries.
These ladies go on to knock on Hugh Grant’s door and are welcomed in for a chat. We start to realise that something’s not right, they may be in danger. Hugh Grant plays his usual charming self, it’s the pathology of the character underneath that makes the difference. Subtle things like the imposing way Grant is sitting forward in his chair, even though he keeps a safe distance away from the girls. He just wants to have a theological chat. They soon hit on the dilemma do you agree with him to get out or will he find that pandering and make your situation worse? The characters are well written and played, it feels real. Like The Da Vinci Code before it, it’s a film about theological debate in the framework of a mainstream movie. It’s refreshing to see a movie with intellectual things to say, a point of view not heard about religion that was quite eye opening in the same ways The Da Vinci Code was.
As well as being very verbose (run now if this isn’t your sort of thing), Heretic also has a sense of humour. On occasion it reminded me of this classic exchange from Red Dwarf:
LISTER: Wasn’t it Descartes who said, “I am what I am?”
RIMMER: No, it was Popeye the Sailor Man.
Whereas in The Quiet Place Writer/Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Wood tried to scare people with no dialogue, in Heretic they’ve tried to scare people with just dialogue. Beck states “Every single scene is predicated on, is this a dangerous situation, or is this just a conversation that has a little bit of edge and bite to it?” Hugh Grant was chosen as they saw his tenacity and intelligence in pursuing the phone hacking scandal. Hugh delivers these monologues well. The film is reminiscent of Misery: you’re stuck in a room with this possibly unhinged character, not sure of what they plan for you next. This is where the tension comes from that underpins the film and theological debate. In Misery the main character was hobbled so he can’t escape, in this, can two women overpower Hugh Grant if needs be? The ending at first seems to get over the top but an in-universe reason appears to be given. And it’s such a smart film if it hadn’t, I might have felt I was too dumb to understand.
An excellent film. If you are religious and don’t like having your view challenged perhaps you shouldn’t be watching a film called Heretic. Likewise, if you don’t like talkies.
