Oh, the horrors of being stuck debating religion for almost two hours. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods' Heretic traps viewers in a theological lockbox that fuels passionate debates. After writing A Quiet Place — a horror film with almost zero dialogue — Beck and Woods challenge themselves to write a horror movie that's almost explicitly conversational. Banter is provocative and stimulating initially, sprawling the thousands of religions throughout history ... until it's not. Chatter escalates from awkward inquisitions to life-or-death questions, but more challenging genre elements fail to excite as Beck and Woods wring the spoken word dry of tension.

Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are Mormon mission callers out on assignment. They ring Mr. Reed's (Hugh Grant) doorbell, who invites them inside and out of the pouring rain. He offers them blueberry pie, asks prodding questions about Mormonism, and promises his wife will exchange pleasantries shortly. The sisters relax,...