#053 – Heretic (2024) - with Shaily Patel

Heretic was released in theaters in 2024 and quickly developed something of a cult fandom, especially among religion nerds. Starring Hugh Grant in a rare villainous dark turn, Heretic tells to story of two young Mormon missionaries, Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes, who find themselves forced to defend their faith (and their lives) against the human manifestation of dickish online atheist bros. Whether of not Heretic is a good movie about religion is open to debate (and we take that up here), but unlike other religious horror, it pulls its thrills from a very unique source and its writers did their homework, painting faith and believers in three dimensions while not endorsing either, and showing the folly of hyper-rationality at the same time. Shaily Patel, one of our earliest guests, rejoins us to talk about a movie she describes as one she both loves and hates. You can find her on Bluesky @vox-magica.