“To us, the ending does mean something specific,” director Bryan Woods says.
Warning: This article contains spoilers forHeretic.
What the hell happened at the end ofHeretic?
Hugh Grant in ‘Heretic’.A24/YouTube
The new horror-thriller fromQuiet Placescribes Scott Beck and Bryan Woods ends on a pointedly ambiguous note.
At one point, the resurrected woman cryptically says, “It is not real.”
The finale’s ambiguity is intentional.
Sophie Thatcher (L) and Chloe East in ‘Heretic’.A24/YouTube
“It’s almost at that level.
Beck confirms that the directing duo agree on one particular reading of the final sequence.
The duo was surprised by Schrader’s take on his own finale.
Chloe East in ‘Heretic’.A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Beck and Woods want to avoid that dynamic by withholding their opinions from public knowledge.
“When you release a movie, it belongs to the audience,” Beck says.
That’s our hope, and we hope to receive that and hear and hear from people.”
Thatcher and East were surprised to hear that the directors had a definitive reading of the climax.
“Oh, wow, I wasn’t expecting that,” Thatcher tells EW.
Last time I watched it, I felt a hopefulness that I hadn’t felt before.
Chloe’s last monologue touched me in ways that really struck me.
And then, that last moment, I was just sobbing and felt less doomed and more hopeful.
But then, other times, it’s completely different.
I think it’s really dependent on what state I’m in.
East shares her costar’s sentiments.
“That’s my feeling, too,” she says.
You prayed for him, and it worked!'
And then I have other friends who were like, ‘Yeah, well, obviously you died.
It’s just how it was meant to be.
And I don’t even really feel like it leans towards one way.
It’s open."
Or do you want to get Chili’s?
Should we go to Red Robin?’
And they forget about the movie."
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Hereticis now playing in theaters.
These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
