Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Heretic review recounts how the cerebral horror film turns every Mormon missionary’s nightmare into a psychopath’s dream.

Long ago, in another life, I could truly relate to the harrowing experiences of Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton in Heretic. I wore the badge, I knocked the doors, and I feared the always terrifying possibility of having a weirdo lure me into his house under false pretenses to take perverse advantage.

And so I was completely entranced by the movie that stars Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed, a gleefully unhinged, amateur theologian and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as a couple of naive LDS missionaries who are tricked into becoming captive in the diabolical atheist’s creaky old home.

A few words about the surprisingly authentic portrayal of the LDS missionary experience—it seems both Thatcher and East were members of the LDS church when they were young, and writer/director Bryan Woods married a Mormon.

While I saw my own spiritual journey mirrored (to an extent) in all three of the characters’ experiences, I was also fully invested in how it would all fit together, and what would happen next.

Heretic review — a heady mix

Heretic is a heady mix of philosophy, pop culture, religion, faith and fanaticism, definitely worth the necessary effort to follow. For example, an arcane lecture on religious iterations uses a legal kerfuffle over the Hollies’ “Air That I Breathe,” and Radio Head’s “Creep,” eventually involving Lana Del Rey. Such delicious factoids!

Grant’s skeptical monologues come fast and furious, artfully leading up to the ending’s surprising cinematic metaphors. The film does not go where you think it will, and is all the better for it.

The film will require you to stretch—in the beginning to follow  Grant’s rapid fire observations, presented as verified fact. As the Heretic progresses, you’ll be required to stretch to believe that one house, which seems to have a small visible footprint, could have a multi-roomed basement that must be at least the size of a Costco. There are so, so many dark and dank rooms down there!

But no film is without its flaws. Heretic is not for everyone. Those whose taste runs to  jump scary, blood and gore, damsel in distressed wet t-shirt horror films will likely be bored. But those who prefer there scares and suspense at a more cerebral level will be riveted.

From writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods of A Quiet Place fame, you would expect nothing less.

1 Hour 50 Minutes

Rated R

After reading this Heretic review, are you eager to jump on your bike and pedal over the the cineplex to see it? Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Heretic review recounts how the cerebral horror film turns every Mormon missionary’s nightmare into a psychopath’s dream.