Has anyone here seen Heretic? We're looking for a movie to see this weekend and were wondering if it had the Texags seal of approval.

Seeing it tonight. About to head out and will report back after. Really looking forward to it, as reviews are great so far.

Have heard good things. Bit havent seen it yet. Interested to hear.

Thanks everyone!

Solid flick, not very scary but Grant does a very good job at being menacing. Well worth the watch.

It's definitely not very scary in the traditional sense. But it's incredibly engaging and entertaining just from the dialogue and the situation.

It's more of a permanent sense of dread than anything. Especially in the first hour.

Right there with everyone else.

I absolutely loved this movie.

A nearly two-hour religious debate, in the form of a horror/thriller haunted house escape room, is something I never knew I wanted, but as it played out, was everything I kept wanting it to be.

And yes, Hugh Grant is, indeed, incredible in it. To the point where I cannot image anyone else in the role.

Not to mention the two female leads - Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, whom I've seen in bit parts here and there - are fantastic as well. As you're watching something memorable like this, it's always fun when you can sense a breakout role, in the moment, and I think two just happened at once here. They both have very different vibes that make for two distinct star qualities, and I think both are only going to explode in their respective lanes from here.

The movie features a great soundtrack too, and I just could not have been more satisfied overall.

It looks to be in wide release this weekend, its first weekend in release, which is a pleasant surprise, so I highly recommend seeing it in theaters when you get the chance. In fact, this is one of those rare movies I could see potentially having a higher second-weekend box office, based on word-of-mouth alone.

For context/those wondering what this movie even is...

Heretic
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28015403/
November 8, 2024
Theatrical Exclusive

Agreed thought the acting was great. I think the only flaw I would give is that Grant's character fell a little too hard at the end. He had hammed it up in a good way as a quirky old man the entire time which was great, but when the final girl started giving it back to him -- starting with the research on praying in hospitals -- he devolved a bit too quickly into the defeated villain "oh nooooooooooo!"... Though depending on your interpretation of the ending, it could still work..

Reminded me a bit of Craven's "Red Eye" -- claustrophobic setting, great acting, seemingly weak girl turns the tables.

Excited to see this, but surprised to hear it isn't that scary. The first trailer looked ridiculously unnerving.

And I think Sophie Thatcher is going to blow up.

I think it has, like, maybe one jump scare, but it's still super creepy, and like Spilner said, the sheer dread you feel for literally the entire runtime more than makes up for it. It's so incredibly tense.

Just sat down for this one. Looking forward to it

Incredible film overall and it is 90% faith dialogue. Overall very well done and it swerved in a way I didn't expect 2/3 in

Just got out. Loved it. It was like a more focused, religious version of The Menu.

You constantly waver between "I think I know where this is going" to "I have no clue where this is going", right up until the end.

The dialogue made this movie for me. Very smart writing and yes, Grant was incredible

I really like it. Wife and I had some good discussions about it afterwards and I won't lie, I agree with Mr Reed about religion essentially being about control. I was literally having that exact discussion with my wife last night, oddly enough.

Question, do y'all think she was dead at the end?

Yes. IMO no other reason for them to make it a point to show that her cell phone still had no signal

I think so as well. they didn't show it again right after she broke open the window though, correct? Also I guess this means the other girl didn't hit Mr. Read with the board, but the moment he put the knife in her throat is when she died.

Sea Speed said:

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I think so as well. they didn't show it again right after she broke open the window though, correct? Also I guess this means the other girl didn't hit Mr. Read with the board, but the moment he put the knife in her throat is when she died.

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They showed it after she broke through. And IMO there'd be no other reason to actually show that. Combined with the butterfly, the blue skies/white clouds and much of the other stuff they discussed the afterlife containing... that was my take. And it helps me with how much Mr. Reed's conviction changed at the end. Beaten intellectually, having to face death... sure I can see him having second thoughts. But he seemingly became this shriveled mess with regret on his choices which seemed a little too much like it would have been viewed through the lens of what a religious person thinks a non-religious person will be at the end.

The screen was too dark in my theater to see this part, so what was the sequence that happened when the sister tried to stab Mr. Reed and the other sister ended up getting stabbed?

The way I interpreted the ending is that Sister Paxton actually did live/escape. Once she was outside, they made a point to show her seeing the butterfly land on her hand, but then when they cut to her hand a second time, her hand was in the same position but the butterfly was instantly gone, as if to show that she was imagining the butterfly. So I don't see why they would show her hallucinating that if she was ALSO dead/dreaming that sequence or whatever. I could be wrong, though.

As for Sister Barnes, I love the Inception/interpret-it-however-you-want aspect of her death. The way I saw it, she either died, crossed over, yet briefly came back to save her friend - or - the scientific explanation is that she simply hadn't died, yet and was able to muster enough strength for one last swing. Then again, maybe I'm reading that wrong as well.

Curious to hear if anyone felt the same way…

TCTTS said:

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The way I interpreted the ending is that Sister Paxton actually did live/escape. Once she was outside, they made a point to show her seeing the butterfly land on her hand, but then when they cut to her hand a second time, her hand was in the same position but the butterfly was instantly gone, as if to show that she was imagining the butterfly. So I don't see why they would show her hallucinating that if she was ALSO dead/dreaming that sequence or whatever. I could be wrong, though.

As for Sister Barnes, I love the Inception/interpret-it-however-you-want aspect of her death. The way I saw it, she either died, crossed over, yet briefly came back to save her friend - or - the scientific explanation is that she simply hadn't died, yet and was able to muster enough strength for one last swing. Then again, maybe I'm reading that wrong as well.

Curious to hear if anyone felt the same way…

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am in the same boat on both counts

There was also the possibility that the simulation glitched out at the end

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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There was also the possibility that the simulation glitched out at the end

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The way she responded to him when he fed her that bull**** was the moment the character completely changed in my eyes.

Same. They did a masterful job of making the audience think she was naive and simple only for her to do a complete 180.

It is interesting but both actresses are former Mormons, and according to the director it was completely by happenstance. They only found out afterwards.

Good call. That only adds to the Inception-like ending of it all.

That's pretty crazy.

Btw, Chloe East also played a naive-ish super-Christian in Spielberg's The Fabelmans. She dates the main character and at one point tells him she has plans to attend "Texas A&M."

I love how much Nolan legit loves going to the movies and constantly shows up opening weekend for anything with any kind of buzz...

saw Heretic on 35mm at the Vista last nite and Christopher Nolan was in a row near me. have now watched two movies with him also in attendance. i wonder what the third will be. maybe Mickey 17 pic.twitter.com/BcXq9cldxF

— mia lee vicino 🦇 (@miavicino) November 10, 2024

Loved the movie. A24 really produces great films. Sophie Thatcher is going to blow up as a big time actress. About Nolan, it would be very interesting to see him direct a horror movie.