Let me recommend a film to you: Heretic starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East (opens in the US today.) Ostensibly a horror film, it’s actually a dissection of religious faith: what we believe, why we believe it, its origins and how we might break free from it.
While there are a couple of grisly bits in it, it is actually a psychological thriller, with Grant’s character, Mr Reed, intent on breaking down the faith of two Mormon missionaries who have the misfortune to pay him a visit. Despite the hapless women being LatterDay Saints, his arguments apply to all religious belief. The film is a vehicle for this breakdown and demolition of faith. It veers into unpleasantness only in its final quarter, after taking a cynical swipe at the idea of resurrection.
I’m usually averse to horror films and only went to see this one because of the plaudits Hugh Grant’s alternately fatherly and menacing performance received from critics. He really is superb and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are excellent as the missionaries, sustaining a Mormon sensibility until it becomes, well, unsustainable. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ script is incisive and engaging (if you like your religion ruthlessly dissected and exposed.) Heretic is highly recommended.
rejectingjesus, 
Definitely looking forward to seeing this one! Thanks for the review!
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I too am averse to horror films. However, I do enjoy Grant as an actor and the subject matter sounds fascinating. I shall consider it.
Gracias.
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Please listen to me because I need help. Have you watched the film “Heretic” starring Hugh Grant?. The film is a great portrait of humanity, I highly recommend it. The religious women preaching Mormonism represent the hateful irritating intrusive hypocrisy of religious people and somehow you sympathize with the atheist psychopath who wants to torture and kill them and who wouldn’t understand the atheist logical fallacy if an encyclopedia was written explaining the obvious deception. Both the religious women and the atheist psychopath are two sides of the same coin. Would you memorize and understand the atheist logical fallacy to preserve knowledge and live better? The truth is atheism is a logical fallacy that assumes God is the religious idea of the creator of the creation to conclude wrongly no creator exists because a particular idea of God doesn’t exist. Atheism is a logical fallacy that assumes God is “sky daddy” to conclude wrongly no creator exists because a particular idea of God doesn’t exist. Did you understand the atheist logical fallacy?. Atheists misreason along the lines of “sky daddy doesn’t make any sense and religion is a tool to control people therefore god doesn’t exist and all the arguments for the existence of god are wrong”. Atheism is an impossibility, atheism can not explain reality. God exists and the intelligent creator of the universe is not what atheists call “sky daddy”. To understand atheists lie to protect religion you have to read Spinoza. To understand God exists you have to understand the kalam cosmological argument: what has a beginning of existence has a cause because from nothing can not be created something. Logically it is impossible the existence of an infinite number of causes, therefore an eternal first uncaused cause that created what has a beginning of existence exists. God exists because logically it is impossible the existence of the creation or finitude without the creator or infinitude. To end the war the discovery that atheism is a logical fallacy has to be news. Ask yourself why the atheist logical fallacy is censored. Emergency! Thank you.
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Too much to unpack here and I haven’t the time to do it, but essentially your argument relies on assumption and assertion: an ‘uncaused cause’ is itself something from nothing, the very premise you’re arguing against.
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@addictionpsychologist.
You should have quit after your first sentence.
Everything we needed to know was explained in those eight words.
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So to sum up: Atheism am dum. Atheists am stoopy.
I for one appreciate your well considered opinion. You’ve given us all something to think about. Thank you.
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I Think Sophie Thatcher would be Good Choice as Rogue In MCU
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Excellent movie and great review. As you say, it’s definitely a psychological thriller, and a rather good one too. What did you make of Sister Paxton’s passage through the series of rooms that contained esoteric books and paintings? How did this scene add value to the overall story?
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