Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Heretic (2024)
WhileHeretic’s early one-liner about Taco Bell might seem like a throwaway joke, it is surprisingly pivotal to the movie’s plot.A24’s horror movieHereticis impressively unpredictable. For the first half of its runtime, the psychological thriller seems like a deftly written two-hander wherein Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton, two Mormon missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, attempt to convert Hugh Grant’s affable cynic Mr. Reed. However, things take a dark turn when the women try to leave Reed’s labyrinthine home and soon discover he has a dark plan for them.
Where To Watch Heretic: Showtimes & Streaming Status
Hugh Grant stars in A24’s thrilling horror movie, and here are the options for where to watch Heretic in theaters, on streaming, or on digital.
Before long,Heretic’s small cast of charactershave graduated from discussing theology in theory to using extreme measures to test their faith. Reed traps the women in a dank basement and forces them to watch as a “Prophet” eats a poisoned pie, dies, and seemingly returns to life. When Sister Barnes tries to debunk this, Reed responds by suddenly slitting her throat and focusing his attention on the surviving Sister Paxton. As bizarre as it might sound, Sister Barnes’ ability to call out Reed’s secret plan stems from a throwaway joke about fast food chains earlier in the movie.
Severe Food Poisoning Earned Sister Barnes The Nickname “Taco Hell”
Near the beginning ofHeretic, Reed asks the two missionaries to rank fast food places in order of preference. He is trying to make a point about religious denominations but, when they start, the pair miss out on one famous chain. Reed asks “What about Taco Bell?” and Sisters Barnes and Paxton simultaneously cut in with a flat “We don’t talk about Taco Bell.” It is a fun comedic beat, but one that has a poignant payoff later on. In the finale,Barnes reveals that she suffered a near-death experience at Taco Bell as a childand was pronounced clinically dead.
Sophie Thatcher’s Heretic heroine tells Reed that his prophet only suffered a near-death experience, noting the similarity between her claims and Barnes’s childhood trauma.
Obviously, Barnes was revived soon after, but this anecdote explains how she knows what a near-death experience feels and looks like. This, in turn, allows her to seemingly debunk Mr. Reed’s bizarre “Prophet” experiment, wherein he had the elderly captive woman eat a poisoned pie, die, and then seemingly come back to life.Sophie Thatcher’sHereticheroinetells Reed that his prophet only suffered a near-death experience, noting the similarity between her claims and Barnes’s own childhood trauma. However, she is not quite right in this assertion, although she is close.
Sister Barnes’ Near-Death Experience Gave A Clue To Mr. Reed’s Plan
Heretic’s Heroine Accuses Hugh Grant’s Villain Of Causing A Near-Death Experience
In reality, Reed actually did kill one of his captive cult members and replaced her with another in the experiment. As such, it is just a strange coincidence that the prophet’s scripted description of the afterlife was so similar to Barnes’s near-death experience. That said,Barnes’s call-out does allow Paxton to later uncover the truth, as it forces the more naive of the two missionaries to think critically about Reed’s plan. Eventually, Paxton realizes that Reed switched one captive for another, scripted their supposed resurrection, and killed Barnes because she came too close to working out the truth.
Barnes might not have been right about the specifics, but she came close enough for Reed to improvise by killing her and claiming she was a simulation.
Thus, Barnes’s experience at Taco Bell, which earned her the childhood nickname “Taco Hell,” provided the pair with the ammunition they needed to debunk Reed’s claims of a supposed miracle. Barnes might not have been right about the specifics, but she came close enough for Reed to improvise by killing her and claiming she was a simulation. At this stage, Paxton was starting to understand his game, and it wasn’t long before she outsmarted him and stabbed him in the neck. This, along with Sister Barnes returning from the dead to finish Reed off, facilitated her escape.
Sister Barnes’ Taco Bell Story Sets Up Heretic’s Ending
Sister Barnes Returns To Save Sister Paxton
Even though Barnes seemingly died from getting her throat cut minutes earlier, Sophie Thatcher’s character revives herself long enough to kill Reed. This twist was already hinted at with her story about dying temporarily as a child, foreshadowing her eventual second return from seemingly certain death. To further underline this comparison, Barnes is only revived when Paxton gives up hope of escaping the basement after a stab wound and begins praying. As Reed reaches for her and attempts to cut her throat, Paxton hopes for a last-second miracle.
Both she and Barnes seemingly receive this miracle when Barnes is revived temporarily and Paxton manages to escape as a result.Heretic’s endingproves that the Taco Bell incident from Barnes’s childhood could be a mere coincidence, but it could also be part of a bigger plan that she was always predestined to play a role in. This further underlines the movie’s debate about faith and skepticism, with the two missionaries arguing for organized religion while Reed provides the case against the institution asHeretic’s twisty, unpredictable mystery gradually unfolds.
