Heretic - A24 4K Ultra HD

“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream”

That quote from Poe feels applicable when watching Scott Beck and Bryan Wood’s Heretic. In a slight segue here, I’m going to be upfront that this review will be intensely vague. I can’t get too deep into plot mechanics, what works or what doesn’t, and why because any extensive discussion would be a spoiler and thus a disservice to folks wanting to go in cold. Scene to scene, the film rolls from one plot twist to the next in such a flurry it’s a wild edge-of-your-seat ride. And I enjoyed the hell out of it! But before I get to far, here's the briefest of brief synopses of the story.

Our story starts with missionary Sisters Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East) as they work to spread the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only no one is really willing to listen. That is except for the kindly Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) who openly welcomes the two young women into his home. He offers them drinks and assures them his wife is baking the most delicious blueberry pie. But as the interview progresses, Sister Barns and Sister Paxton discover that the kindly Mr. Reed is not everything he seems, and his intentions are not at all kind.

Heretic is a true pot-boiler horror film. The terror doesn’t come from violence or gore, but simple turns of phrase. Small actions, simple movements, and slight gestures are more threatening than a bloody knife. The film moves fast, the suspense builds quickly, and the tension endures through to the end. While the film is a battle of wits and wills, it’s also an impressively lucid examination of blind faith and belief. Is evidence contrary to your faith actually proof that your beliefs are false? Or do they reinforce your belief system?

Throughout it all we witness three magnificent performances from our main cast. Sophie Thatcher continues her run at successful horror outings as the determined and shrewd Sister Barnes. Chloe East carries an air of pure innocence, but not so innocent that she can’t stand up for herself and her own mind. Then we come to the dominating force of the film - Hugh Grant. Grant continues to stand out with his string of recent performances disappearing into the friendly but menacing Mr. Reed and a complete antithesis of his '90s Rom-Com persona. There’s little more terrifying than someone who is always three steps ahead and Grant sells it with every diabolical reveal. 

So no, Heretic isn’t your average horror film. There aren’t gallons of blood spilling from the ceilings or visceral dismemberments at the hands of a demonic clown. Cinema snobs might try to pull it out of the genre it belongs to and cast it as a “Psychological Thriller,” but rest assured, it’s a true Horror film. And a highly entertaining one at that. I might have some small reservations about the wrap-up, the end might click off some cliche boxes, but for the vast majority of the film, I thought Hetetic was a thoroughly unsettling highly entertaining adventure. There are enough red herrings and misdirections to keep you off the trail Scott Beck and Bryan Woods so carefully paved.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Heretic is blessed with a single-disc 4K UHD Digibook release from A24. This 4K edition appears to be exclusive to the A24 Shop while you can readily find the Blu-ray on Amazon, in the wild at Barnes & Noble, and even at Walmart. Not sure how long that exclusivity period will last, but just an FYI if you do find Heretic in the wild, make sure you check the back of the packaging that it is in fact the 4K disc. There’s nothing outward on the packaging to suggest that so read the fine print! The disc is pressed on a Region Free BD66 disc, housed in a paper digipak, with six art cards with behind-the-scenes production photos. But what’s really cool is if you flip them over, you can put those cards together to create one of the Monopoly iteration game boards! You just need to supply your own garishly colored fake money and game pieces. The disc loads to an animated main menu with standard navigation options.

If you’re looking for a 4K UHD Dolby Vision presentation to stress your system’s black levels, well you’re in luck with Heretic! The film isn’t overly colorful or bright. Much of the film uses limited light sources so it plays more with the dark corners of a room and the creepy shadows a candle, lantern, or a soft yellow lightbulb on a timer can cast. All of that is to make the point that this is a very purposefully dark-looking film, but it’s a damned great-looking image. While shot digitally, cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung managed to create a very film-like image similar in vein to what Steve Yedlin was able to produce with Knives Out and Glass Onionas an example. It genuinely looks like it was shot on film. Details, even in the lowest lighting, are crisp and clear which is important because this movie makes you pay attention to the little things in each room. Patterns in Reed’s wallpaper, his maze-like model, clothing, and facial features - are all on display. And because colors are rather muted in relation to lighting, they don’t exactly pop off the screen. But skin tones are healthy and human. Whites are bright and crisp. And again, those deep inky black levels are practically perfect. Even in those dark scenes the sense of image depth and dimension is maintained. So, perhaps not the showiest of presentations, but it’s a good one to stress test your high-end setup for!

Now, more exciting than the Dolby Vision transfer is the exceptional demo-worthy Atmos audio package. This isn’t a loud bombastic blow-your-ears-out experience, but one that revels in subtle sound design. A click to the left, a thump below, the drip-drip-drip of raindrops above, and the whirling gusting winds behind make a suspensefully immersive experience. The film’s score from Chris Bacon aids in that immersive quality and then bringing it home are some select usages of songs by The Hollies and Radiohead. Again, trying to avoid spoilers of any kind so I’m purposefully not detailing distinct uses beyond those two artists. Throughout, dialog is always clean and clear without issue, but it should also be stressed what you hear and how well you hear something is purposeful. All around a terrific piece of sound design work.

On the weight of bonus features, Heretic is rather light. But what’s here is worth the time. I would have loved to see more making-of-documentary material, but the behind-the-scenes featurette is far better than your average EPK talking head piece. The real meat of the extras is in the very informative and interesting audio commentary with our writer-director duo. Not a lot to offer, but quality is stronger than quantity. 

• Audio Commentary featuring writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
• Seeing is Believing: Behind the Scenes of Heretic (HD 15:19)

I really enjoyed Heretic. It was a title I sadly just couldn’t escape to see in the theater but I avoided all coverage and trailers so I could go in as cold as possible and it was worth it. I thought I had an idea of what I was going to and was pleased to have the rug pulled out from under me. I might not have been fully on board with the wrapup, but the vast majority of Heretic is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat horror film steeped in dread and despair. Now A24 delivers the film to 4K UHD with a splendid Dolby Vision transfer and an exceptional Atmos mix to match. I’d have liked to see more in-depth extras, but the commentary and featurette are certainly worth the time. Not your average splatter horror film, but a damn chilling and creepy flick to watch on a dark cold winter’s night. Highly Recommended

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