Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Heretic (2024)
Although Mr. Reed's plan in Heretic It may seem confusing, the scheme makes sense, and the ways it falls apart make sense upon further observation. Heretic is an A24 horror film about two Mormon missionaries, Sophie Thatcher's Sister Barnes and Chloe East's Sister Paxton, who find themselves trapped when a seemingly friendly man invites them inside to discuss religion. As the conversation turns sour and the weather outside worsens, the two frightened women ask to leave. Hugh Grant's previously charming Mr. Reed informs them that they can't leave and begins a psychological game.
The cast of characters from Heretic is surprisingly small, with only Grant, East, and Thatcher appearing on screen for most of the film's running time. Eventually, Reed says Paxton and Barnes can leave, but their attempts to escape only lead them to a dank basement. There, they encounter an older, emaciated woman who eats a poisoned pie on Reed's orders. She dies soon after, only to seemingly return to life minutes later. She whispers a cryptic warning to the women before disappearing while Paxton and Barnes actively search for an alternative escape route. It's then that Reed's plan becomes clearer.
Mr. Reed's full plan in Heretic explained
Reed used deception and false imprisonment to test Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton
Barnes accuses Reed of faking the older woman's death and subsequent rebirth, saying she likely had a near-death experience. This suggestion seems to anger the usually placid villain, who suddenly slits Sister Barnes' throat without warning. As she bleeds, Reed removes a birth control device from her and claims this is proof that she is a “Simulation”And not a real person. The previously naive Sister Paxton refuses to accept this statement and accuses Reed of improvising to cover up the fact that his plan went wrong. Amused, Reed asks Paxton to develop his theory.
Reed planned this to prove to Barnes and Paxton that all organized religions depended on coercive control, not faith.
Sister Paxton accurately guesses Reed's plan in HereticIt's ending, and it's a horrible, complicated test of your faith. The woman who apparently died and was reborn were, in reality, two different women. The first genuinely died after eating the poisoned pie, while the second moved the body and took its place. Reed planned this to prove to Barnes and Paxton that, in his opinion, all organized religions depended on coercive control, not faith. When the old woman went off script and told Barnes that “It's not real,”Reed killed Barnes to justify this comment, claiming that Barnes“It wasn't real.”
How the Heretic sets up its twist on Mr. Reed's plan
Heretic strongly hints at Reed's real plan throughout the film
Although HereticReligious horror often appears supernatural in nature, HereticThe plot subtly hints at the reality of Reed's plan throughout his story. Reed discusses the Hollies' hit "The Air That I Breathe" and its ties to Radiohead's "Creep" and, later, Lana Del Rey's "Get Free," while discussing the differences between the iterations. He uses a metaphor involving The landlord game and his imitator Monopoly to convey the same point by comparing the Abrahamic religions to these repetitive and derivative art forms. Although it takes Sister Paxton a while to realize this, he is also slyly hinting at the reality behind his seemingly immortal prophet.
Reed puts them at ease by claiming that his non-existent wife is making an imaginary blueberry pie.
Reed doesn't have a prisoner who can revive himself repeatedly, but instead has several interchangeable prisoners that he will gladly kill to prove his point. Unlike many recent great horrors, HereticReed's trailers haven't revealed any of his twists, and that makes Reed's plan harder to guess before it's revealed. However, there are clues to the revelation spread throughout the plot. When he first meets the missionaries, Reed puts them at ease by claiming that his non-existent wife is making an imaginary blueberry pie. The fact that the prophet died eating blueberry pie suggests another deception.
The purpose of Mr. Reed's test explained
Mr. Reed's test was designed to show the oppressive control of organized religion
It may be tricky for viewers to decipher exactly what point Reed is getting at, as he appears to criticize organized religion, but he has also built an elaborate death cult in his labyrinthine home. However, HereticThe villain's plan makes sense when Reed's final comments to Paxton are taken into consideration. Reed wants to prove to missionaries that all religious beliefs are based on control, as circumstances can always be manufactured to shape a particular person's perspective. After offering Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton apparent proof of genuine immortality, Reed tests their belief in his evidence.
Reed offers to kill Paxton to prove that she will return to life, just as he claims his prophet did. When Paxton rejects this and explains how he actually carried out the plan, Reed is amused. What makes A24's religious horror so frightening is that its villain doesn't seem to have a motive other than to highlight the dangers of organized religion. His experiment takes the most coercive elements of organized religions, like misogyny and deception, distills them, and creates what he calls “one.”True religion.” In this twisted way, Grant's character is trying to help them achieve enlightenment.
What Mr. Reed Wanted to Accomplish in Heretic
Mr. Reed wanted missionaries to recognize the “one true religion.”
From the moment the missionaries enter your home until the bloody finale, Mr. Reed wants to do Hereticthe heroine sees that religion is about control and not freedom. The group of captives trapped beneath his house follow his commands rather than attempt to escape, implying that they could be previous religious emissaries who began following Reed after being convinced by his apparent ability to raise the dead. Reed wants to show Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton that devotion to faith is nothing more than devotion to those who have power over them.
Paxton devises his plan before killing Reed with the help of the dying Barnes and fleeing the house.
To this end, Reed offers what appears to be concrete evidence of a real-life resurrection. When this fails to convince Barnes, he kills her and tries to convince Paxton. Instead, Paxton devises his plan before killing Reed with the help of the dying Barnes and fleeing the house. Although Paxton deciphers the scam and avoids falling for Reed's tricks, Hereticin the final moments, she still does not refute his claims. She depends on prayer to escape her house of horrors, but Heretic never offers a definitive answer as to whether Reed's dim view of organized religion was right or wrong.