Heretic

This week, we discuss Craig’s pick, A24’s 2024 horror film Heretic, noting its strong reviews, the writers’ long theology research, and how it rewards rewatching.

We praise the film’s claustrophobic, dimly lit first half as Hugh Grant’s Reed lures Mormon missionaries Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) into a polite but escalating philosophical trap, using arguments against religion while the women prove smart and resourceful.

We debate plot contrivances, Reed’s improvised psychopathy, and the intentionally ambiguous ending that raises existential questions without taking a firm stance.

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Heretic (2024)

Episode 498, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw Horror Movie Review Podcast

Todd: Hello and welcome to another episode of Two Guys and a Chainsaw. I’m Todd.

Craig: And I’m Craig.

Todd: Well, this week, Craig, was your choice, and you chose a pretty modern film, 2024’s Heretic, which was actually pretty well-reviewed when it came out. I think it’s got a seven on IMDb. It’s got at least 80 or 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. And, uh, it was done by the same guys who did another movie or two that people were pretty impressed with, which was A Quiet Place- Mm-hmm

I believe. And we also did Haunt in 2019, and I think we enjoyed that one quite a bit, if I remember correctly.

Craig: I think so, yeah.

Todd: But he- they’ve done quite a few other things. The Boogeyman. I don’t know. The Quiet Place really took off, right? But I think they only did the screenplay and story for the original.

Craig: Yeah. They were writers on it, I think.

Todd: So, uh, Heretic, I had actually seen this twice before . I don’t remember why. When we org- when you originally brought this up, I thought we had done it on the podcast ’cause normally I just don’t watch horror movies until… unless we’re gonna do them for the podcasts these days.

And, uh, it must have been somebody who really wanted to see this with me. So we, uh, took a look at it, and I saw it and, and, I don’t know, maybe went back to see it again with somebody else. I, I enjoyed the movie, and I was really happy to watch it the second time around. Even though it has twists and turns in it, I think it was the kind of film that w- works even better on a second viewing once you kinda know where it’s going because it gets a little heady at times.

And so it’s good to have the second opportunity to go through it again with a more critical eye and kinda decode the messages that it’s trying to say because the, the writers of this movie really took, took their time with it. I think they said that they worked for about 10 years on the screenplay just because they were doing, uh, research on theology and stuff like that and really wanted to make it deep, so.

Craig: Mm-hmm.

Todd: Here we are, Heretic, starring Hugh Grant as well. How about you? Why did you recommend this? I assume you’d seen it before?

Craig: I had seen it before, and I don’t remember when, but it’s been a while. I would say at least a year, if not more. And I don’t remember when I saw it the first time if I knew anything about it.

I maybe had seen a trailer, but I, I just remember that when I watched it, I thought, “Oh, this would be a really good one to talk about on the podcast.” And I may have mentioned it at some point, but we never got around to it, and I kinda forgot about it, and that happens all the time.

Todd: Mm.

Craig: But, uh, I was looking for something to watch, and I stumbled across it again, and we needed something to watch, and, and I thought it would be interesting to talk about- Yeah

for a variety of reasons. But it’s funny because you… When, when I brought it up, you’re like, “Haven’t we already done that?” And the more I thought about it, I was like maybe we did, but we didn’t, I don’t think.

Todd: It’s not coming up on my search.

Craig: No. I, I th- I think maybe part of the reason that I thought that we had is because after this movie was over, I feel like I thought about it a lot.

Mm. And so maybe that translates into memory of talking about it. But that’s one of the things that I like about this movie, and it’s an A24 movie, right?

Todd: Yeah.

Craig: And, you know, A24 is getting really big, and, and they’re kinda branching out and doing different things, but my experience with them has been really positive.

I tend to really like the stuff that they put out because it’s unique and interesting and often unexpected. The stories themselves or, or twists in the stories often take me by surprise, which is refreshing. They’re entertaining, and they’re well made, which is the most important. You know, those are the most important parts, but they also tend to make me think more than your typical fare.

Todd: Yeah.

Craig: And I don’t need tha- And I don’t need that all the time. I don’t need horror movies or movies in general to really make me think. In fact, sometimes I don’t want that. No, right. Sometimes I’m going, sometimes I’m going to movies specifically so that I don’t have to think, especially about serious things.

But occasionally, and when it’s done well, I like it, and this is one of those cases.

Todd: Yeah. A24 reminds me of what the film industry kinda used to be like. particularly in the ’70s, right, when it was really exploding with a lot of experimental movies and a lot of independent cinema that made it to the big screen.

Like, the, the movie-going audience had a lot to choose from, and this was sort of before the age of the blockbuster, right? So nowadays, the studio model seems to be let’s invest a lot of marketing and money into these huge tentpole films that are almost guaranteed successes- Mm-hmm … so that we can stay afloat and y- and then fund, you know, the smaller movies as well.

But, but they seem to do less and less of funding smaller movies, and they just wanna go from tentpole to tentpole. It’s like the book industry. I read that at one point, and I think it’s still true today, that it’s really the blockbuster authors that float Every major publishing house. But publishers, editors then, you know, take that money and they turn around and, and invest it in taking chances on newer authors.

Sure. That’s what editors pride themselves in doing. Whereas the movie industry s- I- seems to be veering away from that model. Anyway, it’s a lot more expensive nowadays to make movies, and it’s harder to get them distributed if you’re not a big, giant studio, and movie theaters basically just show the big studio films and are not gonna take a chance on some indie production.

The days of sh- you know, shooting your movie with your friends and shopping around to movie theaters and drive-ins and stuff are over. So, you know, that’s kinda changed the kind of films that we get, and so it’s really neat to see a studio like A24 get well-known for doing these kind of movies that are just off the beaten path.

They’re unique, like you said. It seems like they take a lot of chances on really odd, interesting, bizarre, fun material. You kinda know you’re guaranteed to get a film like this. You may not like it, it may not be successful, but God, they’ve had a lot of hits.

Craig: Yeah.

Todd: And this is just exactly the kind of film that they make.

I mean, when you’re open up an A24 movie, this is exactly the kind of movie you’re hoping to get, I think.

Craig: You … Well, I, I think part of the fun of it is that you never really know what you’re gonna get. This movie surprised me in several ways. I, i- in fact, in at least one way, to me, it kind of feels like two different movies.

The first half and the second half feel like very different kinds of movies, and I like them both, and, and the transition is interesting, but I think that’s … Whether or not the balance works, I, I think is a good point for debate. But you mentioned the directors. I don’t remember who. …