Why Hugh Grant’s ‘Heretic’ Is About Mormonism
The new horror movie Heretic delves into Mormonism more than any mainstream film to date. The directors of the film explained why they chose to explore that faith. They felt that it stood out from some of the world’s more established religions.
The directors of Hugh Grant’s ‘Heretic’ said Mormonism is uniquely new and American
Many horror movies focus on the darker aspects of Christianity, such as the devil himself. The genre wouldn’t be the same without religious horror films like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Omen. Heretic takes things in a new direction. It’s about a crazed atheist (played by Hugh Grant) who kidnaps a pair of Mormon missionaries to torture them. Heretic might be the first horror film centered on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rather than more popular forms of Christianity like Catholicism and Protestantism.
During a 2024 interview with GQ, Beck discussed why Heretic focuses on Mormonism. “To us, it feels like it’s one of the newest religions,” he said. “You can look at Christianity or Islam, and it’s rooted in thousands of years of history, but Mormonism, it’s uniquely new, it’s uniquely American, transplanting the story of Christ and putting it in America.”
Why ‘Heretic’ didn’t focus on a number of newer religions
Joseph Smith founded Mormonism in the 19th century. Predictably, there are religions newer than Mormonism, including Thelema, Scientology, the Hare Krishna movement, and LaVeyan Satanism. If someone takes issue with religions being new, Mormonism is not the worst offender in that regard. Mormonism is often a target for critics of religion because it is just popular enough that people are aware of it but not so popular that attacking it could lead to massive social repercussions. After all, millions of Christians agree with critiques of Mormonism simply because Smith formed numerous doctrines that differentiated his faith from earlier Christian sects.
The history of Mormonism was only part of the impetus behind the film. “It also comes from a personal connection,” Beck said. “Twelve years ago, we made one of our first feature films in Salt Lake City, the hotspot of Mormonism. Through that experience, we ended up making lifelong friendships with so many people from the Mormon faith, and that became our induction into the religion, the lifestyle, the culture.”
The film was supposed to subvert portrayals of Mormonism
Woods was also interested in subverting stereotypes of Mormons,” he said. “One of the things we found is that whenever Mormons are depicted in the media, it’s always with this kind of naiveté; a condescending, like, ‘Maybe they’re not as smart as everyone,’ this attitude that comes with it. And so one of the things we’re trying to do with the film is subvert that expectation, and maybe touch on the hint of naiveté on the surface.” Beck added that he wanted the missionaries in the film to ultimately come across as cool and unique.
Despite all the criticism of Mormonism in Heretic, some people who have experience with the religion might enjoy it on some level. Its portrayal of its main characters is humanizing and layered. However, if someone would rather not hear any criticisms of Mormonism, this is not the movie for them.
