Sumith Prasad
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ horror film ‘Heretic’ revolves around Mr. Reed, who welcomes two Mormon missionaries named Sister Barnes and Paxton to his house. The young women try to introduce The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the reclusive man without realizing he is a well-informed religious scholar. What ensues is a deadly game that threatens the life of the missionaries and explores the fundamentals on which religions of the world are built. Since there are several harrowing real-life incidents involving psychopathic personalities luring their victims to their houses, the premise of the movie may seem rooted in reality! MILD SPOILERS AHEAD.
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ Personal Relationship With Faith Led Them to the Creation of Mr. Reed
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods created Mr. Reed without an exact real-life counterpart. There are no known individuals who had or have targeted missionaries and threatened their lives. The criminal and psychopathic life and history of the character are completely fictional. As two artists who grew up as believers, religion was a major part of the filmmakers’ lives, which made them delve into it significantly. A personal tragedy, the demise of Woods’ father after battling esophageal cancer, further added fuel to this exploration. They asked themselves what’s next after death and whether there’s anything at all. These questions became the foundation on which the character of Mr. Reed was built.
In one way or another, Reed represents not only Beck and Woods but also countless atheists who can easily agree with the antagonist’s arguments against religions. “I think there’s as much overlap between us and Mr. Reed as there is with probably anyone who’s watching the movie and starting to nod their head,” Beck told The Hollywood Reporter. Having said that, the filmmakers drew inspiration from several real-life figures to polish the characteristics of the homicidal religious scholar. Among these individuals are Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, two of the four beacon-bearers of New Atheism.
The Lives of Real-Life Figures Helped Scott Beck and Bryan Woods Create Mr. Reed
Mr. Reed’s confident and thought-provoking arguments against the foundations of theism are not drastically different from the observations made by Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins in their books and speeches. Still, the most prominent inspiration behind Reed is Keith Raniere, the co-founder of NXIVM, which is widely regarded as a cult today. He is a convicted sex trafficker and racketeer who is accused of manipulating and coercively controlling his followers, which is what Reed does with Sister Barnes and Paxton. While developing the character with Hugh Grant, Bryan Woods observed that the actor was immensely focused on the cult leader.
“[Grant] was interested in the word salad that Raniere is capable of conjuring in a way that makes him almost feel smarter than he actually might be,” Woods told The Verge. “He also responded to the way he creates the illusion of listening, which makes him seem less threatening,” the filmmaker added. The examples of Raniere and other similar figures made Scott Beck and Woods try to understand how these personalities were able to attract people and easily change the fundamental beliefs of their followers.
These questions and their answers laid the groundwork for Reed and his deadly, vicious “game” he forces Barnes and Paxton to play. In other words, the antagonist is the leader of a one-man cult who attempts to force his understanding of religion on the two missionaries through terrifying and homicidal methods. The charm Beck and Woods noticed in Raniere or L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, can also be seen in Reed.
Sister Barnes and Paxton Represent Theism and Create a Dialogue About Faith in Heretic
Sister Barnes and Paxton, like Mr. Reed, are fictional characters. While Scott Beck and Bryan Woods were writing ‘Heretic,’ they wanted to ensure that the narrative was built with utmost empathy toward the believers or theists. The two writer-directors did not want their film to be completely against the system of religion without a strong voice providing counterarguments. In other words, they wanted a dialogue between two schools of religious thought rather than a homicidal atheist’s monologue about faith. This conviction paved the way for the creation of Barnes and Paxton. With these two characters, Beck and Woods wanted to show the various dimensions of the relationship with belief or disbelief.
Beck and Woods created Barnes and Paxton as Mormons because the religion was relatively new in comparison with Catholicism or Islam, which are thousands of years old. In addition, Mormonism appeared to them as “uniquely American,” making it an ideal faith for their American film. The filmmakers also wanted to challenge the stereotypical depiction of Mormons by presenting the depth of the believers they know through Barnes and Paxton. Interestingly, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, who play the characters, grew up as Mormons. Their input helped Beck and Woods to conceive the two missionaries’ storylines authentically.
In the film, Barnes questions her faith extensively. She even has an implant inside her body, which appears to be a contraceptive. Sophie’s own experiences helped Beck and Woods to shed light on the character’s turbulent relationship with faith convincingly. “I think Sophie, who had left the church earlier in her life, and who has family members that are in and out, it definitely helped layer her performance as Sister Barnes — somebody who grew up in the church but has this lingering question of, ‘Is it real?’ or ‘do I fit in here?’ and ‘what do I believe?’” Woods told GQ. Even though the characters in ‘Heretic’ are fictional and cannot be found in reality, they are rooted in real life and remind us of figures who continue to exist around us.
Read More: Where Was Heretic Filmed?
