the new horror movie Heretic it’s about The thorny issue of Mormon missionaries.. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a statement about the film. The church’s problems with the film were not purely religious.

The Mormon Church said that “heretic” attacks the “well-being of our communities”

Heretic is about a pair of Mormon missionaries who come to talk to a lonely man named Mr. Reed. (played by Hugh Grant). He seems genuinely interested in converting to the missionaries’ religion, but things are not what they seem. It turns out that Reed has an anti-religious agenda and has lured the missionaries into an intricately designed death trap. The proceedings involve twists, turns, sickening violence, and plenty of new atheist talking points.

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

Andersen raised his problems with Heretic that extends beyond the Mormon community. “Our commitment is to foster a culture of respect, empowerment and safety for all people,” he said. This controversy is part of a long history of public figures claiming that horror movies lead to real violence.

Why ‘Heretic’ is mostly about a religion

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

Woods gave fans more information about 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 epicenter of Mormonism.” Since then, Woods made many lifelong Mormon friends and became familiar with the Mormon faith, culture, and lifestyle.

Is the movie against Mormons?

Beck also said that Heretic it was intended to subvert the way Mormons are portrayed in popular culture. In his opinion, Mormon missionaries are often seen as naive. He wanted the missionaries to come in Heretic be smart, cool and unique. It appears that this approach provided no comfort to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So is the movie anti-Mormon? Yes, but he 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’s possible, just as it’s possible that any war movie could inspire violence against soldiers. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if this controversy goes away without harming anyone.