Why the Mormon Church finds the horror film ‘Heretic’ dangerous

The new one horror film Heretic passes the thorny subject of the Mormon missionaries. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement about the film. The church’s problems with the film were not purely religious.

The Mormon Church says ‘heretic’ attacks the ‘well-being of our communities’

Heretic is about a couple of Mormon missionaries who come to talk to a reclusive man named Mr. Reed (played by Hugh Grant). He seems genuinely interested in converting to the missionaries’ religion, but things are not as they seem. It turns out that Reed has an anti-religious agenda and has lured the missionaries into an elaborately designed death trap. The proceedings include twists, disgusting violence, and plenty of New Atheist talking points.

By 2024, Desert News released a statement from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spokesman Doug Andersen responding Heretic. “Like many Hollywood productions, this is a work of fiction and not based on actual events,” Andersen said. “It portrays the explicitly violent treatment of women, including people of faith, and those who volunteer in their communities. Any narrative that promotes violence against women because of their faith or undermines the contributions of volunteers goes against the safety and well-being of our communities.”

Andersen identified his problems Heretic which extends beyond the Mormon community. “Our commitment is to promote a culture of respect, empowerment and safety for all individuals,” he said. This controversy is part of a long history of public figures claiming that horror films lead to real-life violence.

Why ‘Heretic’ is mainly about 1 religion

Heretic was directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. During a 2024 interview with GQBeck discussed why he chose to focus the film on Mormonism. “To us it feels like it’s one of the newest religions,” he said. “You can look at Christianity or Islam, and it is rooted in thousands of years of history, but Mormonism is uniquely new, it is uniquely American, it transplants the story of Christ and places it in America.” In fact, Islam is 1,400 years old, not thousands of years old, but much older than Mormonism, which Joseph Smith founded in the 19th century.

Woods gave fans more insight into the film. “It also comes from a personal connection,” he explained. “Twelve years ago we made one of our first feature films in Salt Lake City, the hotspot of Mormonism.” Since then, Woods has made many lifelong Mormon friends and became familiar with the Mormon faith, culture and lifestyle.

Is the movie against Mormons?

Beck said that too Heretic was intended to undermine the way Mormons are depicted in popular culture. According to him, Mormon missionaries are often seen as naive. He wanted the missionaries inside Heretic to be smart, cool and unique. It appears that this approach has not provided any relief for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So is the movie anti-Mormon? Yes, but it seems to be against all forms of religion and mentions Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism by name. Will the film lead to violence against missionaries? It is possible, just as it is possible that any war movie can incite violence against soldiers. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if this controversy blows over without harming anyone.