A24’s religious horror movie Heresies had its Toronto International Film Festival premiere earlier this month, and Screen Rant was on hand to speak with the minds behind the story. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who are best known as the creators of A quiet placeThe movie follows two young Mormon women whose lives are changed forever when they enter the home of a seemingly gentle but ultimately very strange man.
Heresies Star The FablemanChloe East as Sister Paxton and Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes, who go door to door preaching about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they are invited in by Mr. Reid (Hugh Grant). While he seems hospitable at first, engaging them in fascinating theological debate, things soon take a turn for the worse when he refuses to let them leave.
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Screen Rant Interviewed the stars and directors of Heresies On the TIFF 2024 red carpet, discuss questions of faith and philosophy that went into the making of the horror film. Beck and Woods also shared their names on A quiet place Sequels, while Grant hinted at a very interesting Bridget Jones Theory and Thatcher answered her first question about Yellowjackets Season 3.
Heresy filmmakers address the possibility of returning to the world from a quiet place
“We love sequels and remakes as much as anyone, but…”
Screen Rant: I’m so excited for HeresiesAnd the trailer alone had me on the edge of my seat. And, of course, your pedigree speaks for itself. At what point in your process do you know you have a hit on your hands?
Scott Beck: I don’t know. It’s one of those things where I think there’s two of us, and so we used that shared brain to try and stress test every idea we had. Whether it’s a quiet place, which was an idea that’s been stuck in a drawer for a long time, and we pull it out and are like, “I still feel like there’s something there,” or heretical, where it’s A movie based on conversations we’ve had over decades about religion and the world. What happens when you die? I think for us it’s always about a sticky idea that sticks around.
Bryan Woods: Yes, it’s about all of our deepest, darkest fears as it relates to what happens when we die, and our anxiety about the fact that there are so many different religions on planet Earth, many of them are beautiful. . And this kind of lingering question of, “What is the one true religion, and what does it mean to believe or not to believe?”
The movie examines all of these things. It’s a conversation about the things that are really meaningful to us, and we’re just so grateful to have this amazing cast together because they’re so in tune with the conversation. We just couldn’t be happier.
Screen Rant: With A quiet placeYou have a whole universe in motion. Is this a world you would ever return to with your own pen, or do you let it grow on its own?
Scott Beck: That’s a great question. I mean, I would never rule it out, but at the same time, I think what we’re always driven by is finding the next original story. Before A Quiet Place was born, we were so excited to be able to tell the story of a family in the heartland where we come from Iowa. And heresy was born of the same instinct.
Although it can always be an option, there are so many ideas that we are excited about which ones are original.
Bryan Woods: Yes, we love sequels and remakes as much as anyone, but we miss the era of movie-going where the big hit movies of each year are the things you’ve never heard of before. It’s such a privilege to be able to create something and throw new ideas at the wall. The studio that made Heretic, A24, is so amazing at taking big swings and investing in original ideas. They are simply amazing apartments.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Hugh Grant reveals the theological debates that most surprised him in heresy
“A lot of the basic principles of Christianity are not really new.”
Screen Rant: I know there is a lot of difficult theological debate going on HeresiesAnd it seems to have a lot of real-life considerations of Mormonism. Was there anything that surprised you the most or that you found most interesting when it came to the religious aspect?
Hugh Grant: There were some arguments that my character makes in the film that were new to me. The guys who wrote and directed it did some fascinating research on the fact that a lot of the basic tenets of Christianity aren’t really new. Saviors born of a virgin baptized in rivers who performed miracles have actually been around in many religions and cults for thousands of years before Christ came along. I was very interested by this.
Screen Rant: I’m also very excited about Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy. How does it feel to have another shot at Bridget without Mark Darcy around?
Hugh Grant: I’m not convinced he’s not in it. I think they are hiding something.
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Heretic’s Chloe East praises Hugh Grant as costar and mentor
“He’s just always there and present and always connected.”
Screen Rant: This movie deals with Mormonism, but some very real-world research is done in it.
Chloe East: So many times you see Mormon missionaries in movies as the butt of the joke, not real humans. I really wanted to represent a true sister missionary. I had friends on missions while we were shooting, and I texted them like, “Is that accurate? Is that accurate? Give me a verse to read.” And so, I almost felt responsible. I wanted to protect the missionaries there. I just wanted a really true depiction.
This movie took me on a ride, on a ride. It was the most exhausting movie I’ve ever done. Mentally, physically… but everything was so worth it because I’ve seen this movie. I love this movie, but it was hard.
Screen Rant: How hard was it working opposite Hugh Grant? I imagine that’s a bit of an awe-inspiring moment.
Chloe East: Yeah, he was amazing. He is really amazing. Such a talented actor. Obviously, I don’t even need to say that, but it was really nice not to have to force anything. He’s just always there and present and always connected, and so you didn’t really have to worry about the scene or really beating away from anything. It’s just there. And you can focus on where the script is and what our characters are trying to say.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Heresy star Sophie Thatcher teases Yellowjackets Season 3 without Juliette Lewis
“It’s just the darkness, and an empty void, which is really sad.”
Screen Rant: What is your take on Sister Barnes and her relationship to her faith?
Sophie Thatcher: It was interesting. Sister Barnes feels like a younger version of herself. I felt a lot more shy and a little bit more reserved, so it was kind of tapping into a younger version of myself, but also the normal character work that you do with any [role]. Because it’s been a while. It’s been like 10 years since I was that age, but a lot of my family is still Mormon, so I just ask a lot of questions.
Chloe, who is my co-star, has a lot of friends who are still Mormon, so it was just about keeping tabs and figuring out what was the most realistic image without being a caricature or a joke.
Screen Rant: What is your favorite memory from set, with or without Hug Grant?
Sophie Thatcher: I will tell my favorite memory. We talk about Taco Bell in the movie, and I love Taco Bell. I did the monologue about Taco Bell – a very dramatic monologue – and the directors brought up Taco Bell. I was like, “Oh, that’s such a sweet thing. Of course you did.” I mean, it was a very sweet moment. It was a very full turn.
Screen Rant: I’m also excited for season 3 of Yellowjackets. How does it feel for you as an actor to play young Natalie, now that we know what’s going on with her?
Sophie Thatcher: Yes, that’s interesting. I haven’t been asked that yet. I haven’t printed for Yellowjackets yet.
It feels like there is freedom to him. I feel that there is an inherent darkness here, although it was not her who made herself. It’s just the darkness, and an empty void, which is really sad. But Juliet [Lewis] is always in the back of my mind and kind of inside me at this point. I did it for two seasons, so it feels like – it sounds crazy – but she’s into me.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
More about Heretic (2024)
Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Fablemans of TIFF ’22) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, Yellowjackets) are cheerful with their mission to spread good news about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Working down a list of doors to knock on, they arrive at the quiet suburban house of Mr. Reed (Grant), who seems not only polite and hospitable, but also genuinely fascinated by the history and teachings of Mormonism.
In fact, Mr. Reid is quite knowledgeable about all the world’s major religions and is eager to discuss them with the women. Maybe too eager. With the rain coming down outside and Mr. Reid’s wife making pie in the next room, the setting is very cozy. The only thing that could spoil it would be if Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes wanted to leave.
Check out our other TIFF 2024 interviews here: