"The wife is shy, but the pie is nigh!"
(Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Wood, 2024)
We who do not live in horror-film-land know that no young woman should ever go into the isolated, charming house at the bottom of a wind-strewn garden during a rainstorm. Unfortunately for them, LDS missionaries Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) do live in that land and did not get the memo. In non-horror-film-land the missionaries would be young men but of course, women are the proper victims of imprisonment, slashings and creepy things in horror-film-land so there it is. Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) lives in that house and is so shambling and avuncularly welcoming when they ring his gothic doorbell that he just about wears a cardigan with leather patches. He even offers them the blueberry pie his wife is just finishing up baking in the kitchen. How could it get more worrying? Run girls! Run! But they don’t.
This is (more or less) a three-hander. Grant is marvellous. Recognisably his old cheeky self and yet sinister without ever descending to the hard stare behind the smile. He is, rather, unflappable and unreachable, a psychopath. Mr. Reed and the sisters engage in an actually most interesting discussion of religion and belief. The women hold their end up reasonably well but look a bit faltering as things go on. Reed knows his theology and claims to know the one true religion. There is a point at which the women are spooked, although Reed hasn’t yet imprisoned them. In reality they would have left, or attempted to, at that point but they do not because this is…you know. And soon it’s too late.
‘Heretic” changes tone abruptly about halfway through and becomes a more traditional dark basement type thingy with the attendant trapdoor, false death and pistol that must be fired. There is what appears to be a nod to that great classic, Eyes Without a Face. It’s pretty unbelievable and does raise some questions that are not answerable. That is perhaps disappointing but other viewers will love those aspects. Faith is all.
While your email address is required to post a comment, it will NOT be published.
1 Comment