This article contains major spoilers for Heretic.Heretic’s Chloe East provides insight into Sister Paxton’s reaction to the film’s major twist. The just-released A24 movie tells the story of Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes, two young Mormon missionaries with hopes of getting new converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One particular candidate for conversion, Mr. Reed, proves especially challenging, and the young women see their faith and will to live tested as they fight for survival.Hereticfeatures a leading castincluding East, Sophie Thatcher, Hugh Grant, and Topher Grace.
In an exclusive interview withScreen Rant,East speaks on her character’s reaction to the major ending twist. According to the actor, dealing with Sister Paxton’s ending was “probably one of the hardest changes [she has] had.” This was because, before Sister Barnes' shocking return, she had already “mapped most of Paxton out” and internalized the journey. To figure out what she needed to do with her character, she tried to “internalize[] the actual exhaustion and mental state [Paxton] was in at that time.” Check out the full quote from East below:
That was probably one of the hardest changes I’ve had. I feel like I mapped most of Paxton out and the emotions she would go through, but then it was a new phase of the movie where I have to be different. It has to be different than the rest of the movie that we’ve already shot, so that was definitely a struggle.
But I think I just internalized the actual exhaustion and mental state I was in at that time because I had nothing else to really pull from. Then I just started pulling from last week’s work and just how I felt currently, and it really did add a different layer to it.
What This Means For The Heretic Ending
East is, of course, referring to the moment when Sister Barnes, whose throat was slit by Mr. Reed earlier in the movie,comes back from the dead to kill Mr. Reed once and for all. At this point, Sister Paxton had resigned herself to disbelief, after Mr. Reed’s previous resurrection “miracle” had been proven to be a trick. Moments before the character is going to be stabbed in the throat by Mr. Reed, killing her, the villain’s face is punctured by three nails protruding from a wooden plank. Shockingly, it is a revived Sister Barnes who carries this out.
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As Sister Paxton, East had a lot of leg work to do inHeretic’s ending sequence. There is no dialogue between her and Thatcher’s character, butEast must capture a simultaneous sense of awe, fear, and shock. She only gets a few frames to convey her reaction, as Sister Paxton soon has to use her brain to figure out how to escape Mr. Reed’s still-locked-up home. From the sounds of her interview, it seems East opted to morph aspects of her character’s previous journey into the ending.
Our Take On Sister Paxton’s Ending In Heretic
Heretic Leaves Room For Interpretation
East does not unpack every facet of the ending in her quote, and there is truly a lot to unwind withinHeretic. Sister Barnes drops dead again shortly after she was resurrected, so the ending leaves it unclear as to whether aspects of this return were imagined by Sister Paxton, or whether it was a real miracle. The film also cuts off shortly after Sister Paxton escapes the house, but before anyone comes to save her, prompting further questions. East’s quote provides insight into one key character’s journey inHeretic, but still leaves ample room for discussion.
Heretic
Cast
Heretic, released in 2024, follows two young missionaries who must navigate a perilous test of faith when they encounter the sinister Mr. Reed after knocking on the wrong door, leading to a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.
