Heretic · reception & legacy
2024 · Scott Beck
How Heretic has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
A November 2024 hit for A24 — strong reviews, a big-for-A24 box office run, and a Golden Globe- and BAFTA-nominated Hugh Grant. Barely a year on, the consensus hasn't budged much: brilliant setup, still-contested finish.
What's debated
Almost everyone agrees the first two acts of theological cat-and-mouse are electric — the eternal debate is whether the third act sticks the landing or squanders it.
Its footprint
It supercharged the 'Hugh Grant villain era' discourse, and Mr. Reed's monologue connecting Monopoly, Radiohead's 'Creep' and Lana Del Rey became the film's endlessly clipped and quoted party piece. Its end-credits line — 'no generative A.I. was used in the making of this film' — drew applause at screenings and became a talking point of its own.
Where it stands
Already a Letterboxd staple and one of the defining conversation-piece entries in 2020s A24 horror.
Named by the director
Influences Scott Beck has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.
- Contact (1997) — Beck and Woods named Zemeckis' science-vs-faith drama as a key inspiration for Heretic's belief debates.
- David Mamet — The directors cited Mamet's dialogue-driven work as a model for building a thriller out of conversation.