OVERLAY REPORT

In the 2024 psychological horror film *Heretic*, the plot twists are layered, moving from psychological deception to a gruesome reveal about the nature of the "miracles" Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) claims to perform. Here are the specific details of the plot twists: ### 1. The Blueberry Pie Deception The first major "mini-twist" occurs early on. Mr. Reed invites the two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, into his home, claiming his wife is in the kitchen baking a blueberry pie. This makes the girls feel safe enough to enter despite their church’s rules. Later, as the tension rises, the girls realize there is no wife. They discover a **Blueberry Pie-scented candle** burning in the room. This reveals that the entire environment was a calculated trap designed to manipulate their senses and sense of safety from the moment they stepped on the porch. ### 2. The "One True Religion" Mr. Reed forces the sisters into a series of tests regarding their faith. He presents a cynical theory that all religions are just "iterations" of one another—comparing them to how board games like *Monopoly* evolved from earlier versions. He claims he has discovered the "One True Religion." ### 3. The Resurrection Twist (The Climax) The biggest plot twist involves the concept of the afterlife and resurrection. After Sister Barnes is killed (Mr. Reed slits her throat to prove a point about mortality), Mr. Reed performs what appears to be a genuine miracle. * **The Appearance:** A "resurrected" Sister Barnes appears to stand up and walk behind a translucent screen or through a doorway. She looks gray and deathly but seems to be moving and speaking, appearing to confirm that there is something on the "other side." * **The Reality:** Sister Paxton discovers that the resurrection is a **mechanical fraud.** Mr. Reed has a secret, high-tech basement filled with levers, pulleys, and hidden compartments. The "resurrected" girl is actually a different woman (a previous victim or a captive) whom Reed has physically manipulated or a series of clever stage-magic tricks involving the corpse of Sister Barnes being moved like a puppet through a slot in the floor. ### 4. The "True" Nature of the Basement The final twist is the reveal of the "One True Religion" itself. Reed believes the only thing that is "true" is **Control.** He has spent years kidnapping people and putting them through these "tests" to prove that humans will believe in anything if they are scared enough. In the final confrontation, Sister Paxton realizes that Reed isn't a prophet or a genius; he is simply a man obsessed with "the simulation" of faith. Even the "supernatural" elements she thought she experienced were actually results of Reed’s architectural traps, hidden speakers, and chemical hallucinogens. ### Summary of the Twist The core twist of *Heretic* is that **there is nothing supernatural occurring.** While the movie flirts with the idea that Mr. Reed might actually have some dark, occult knowledge, the finale reveals he is a purely human monster—a master manipulator using technology, stagecraft, and psychological torture to "debunk" faith by replacing it with a manufactured, mechanical "miracle."