There’s a scene in Heretic, A24’s next psychological horror hit, when two young missionaries break down the hierarchy of fast food restaurants to their eventual kidnapper. It’s a brief moment of comedic relief in an otherwise tense situation performed brilliantly by Chloe East as Sister Paxton. When their seemingly charming yet diabolical host Mr. Reed (a fantastic Hugh Grant) asks about Taco Bell, the answer is quick—”We don’t talk about Taco Bell”—for reasons you’ll have to see the film to find out.
East, however, joins me via Zoom on a Friday morning in October and is very happy to talk about Taco Bell. The beloved Mexican chain happens to be her favorite restaurant and category of food, and she’s not shy about telling me she’s already had it four times this week. “I wish I was lying. I wish I was trying to be funny, but I’ve literally had nothing but Taco Bell outside of eating craft services and what’s in my house,” the actor says with a laugh. Her go-to order hasn’t changed since high school: a Crunchwrap Supreme, a Doritos Locos Taco, and a Baja Blast. She’s our kind of gal.
While I can’t say for certain that the Taco Bell plotline was a selling point in East joining Heretic, it certainly was a happy coincidence.
Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods—the duo behind A Quiet Place and the 2019 slasher Haunt—Heretic follows Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), two young missionaries who knock on the wrong door and are forced to question their faith as they get trapped in their sinister host’s deadly cat-and-mouse game. Not your typical scary movie, its horror is generated through chilling discussions and ideas rather than classic jump scares and gore.
Usually one to pass on a horror audition (“It’s probably one of the most embarrassing things you can put yourself on tape for,” East says), the actress had a change of heart when Heretic was sent to her. With A24 attached, she knew she was in good hands and it would be worth it, but even more appealing was the dialogue-heavy script. It reminded East of one of her favorite films, The Hateful Eight. It was the movie that got me into movies, and I always loved that it was one location, super dialogue driven, and the tension was building throughout,” she says.
Another exciting element for East was the opportunity to play a Mormon missionary. Growing up in San Clemente, California, she was adjacent to Mormon culture and had a lot of Mormon friends who went on missions. With that, East felt protective over her missionary friends, and she wanted to make sure the film wasn’t feeding into stereotypes and was providing an accurate portrayal of the mission experience.
While shooting, East would frequently reach out to friends who were on missions, texting them questions. “I was nitpicking the script so we could make it as honest and true as possible,” she says. “I was really trying to get in there and make sure everything was right and asked questions like, Would you be put in this situation? What would you do?” When we had to improvise things, I was asking them, What should I say here? What would you talk about? I used them a lot to make this character as best as I could.”
East is exceptional as the sweetly natured and naïve missionary Sister Paxton, a perfect counterpart to Thatcher’s thorny and quietly ferocious Sister Barnes. Sister Paxton is strong in her beliefs, even as she is repeatedly tested and dragged further into darkness. When asked how the film’s discussion of religion impacted her own personal beliefs or thoughts on the topic, East admits she did question things.
“Every time I watch the movie, I have a little bit of a different experience,” she says. “Even though I shot the scenes in the library a trillion times for weeks on weeks, when I watch it, I’m still really trying to listen to [Mr. Reed’s] points. I do like that every point [he] gives there’s an equal and opposite argument for it. It’s not all one-sided. Even toward the end of shooting the movie, I remember thinking, ‘Wait, am I Paxton?’ There’s a monologue at the end about [how] praying doesn’t work, but it’s nice to think about someone other than yourself. I started thinking, ‘Well, I’m aligned with some of her beliefs.’ … I’m always evolving. Especially as I watch the movie, I’m trying to identify what I believe and what the movie is trying to say because I do think it’s left open.”
The dynamic between Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes is one of the reasons Heretic works so well. They are an unlikely horror duo, and the casting was perfect. According to East, it couldn’t have been any other way. “There’s something unique about how [me and Sophie] were raised and who we are as people that just makes it so right that we are the characters we are,” she tells me.
Even East and Thatcher’s experience working and shooting together was similar to that of real missionaries. They came from very different backgrounds, had never met prior to this movie, and were thrown into a situation where they had to spend a lot of time together. It requires a certain trust from each other that the two actresses were able to build quickly. “We lived in the same building and would go to the mall across the street and wander around Metrotown. We had a lot of fun but also worked long hours. It just worked out perfectly to mirror the dynamic,” East says.
As for working with Hollywood veteran Hugh Grant, whose usual screen charm is turned on its head in the film, East says she definitely learned a lot from him, especially when it came to having creative liberties with a character and the courage to try different things. As a huge fan of Paddington 2, the actress is no stranger to seeing Grant as a villain, but her earliest film memory of the actor was the British period drama Sense and Sensibility. “It’s like everyone’s mom’s favorite movie,” she laughs.
Heretic hits theaters November 8, but East has north of seven projects in various stages of production, including one she’s currently filming. She is what we call an in-demand talent. “I think I’m in a really fun spot right now,” she says. “It’s fun when you have a lot of projects coming out.” East likens the anticipation and buildup around a project to the countdown to Christmas. She loves all the press and red carpet hoopla, but once a project is out, there’s a bit of sadness that it’s all over. While that moment is around the corner for Heretic, there’s plenty more for East to look forward to as she continues to carve a noteworthy résumé for herself. “I’ve been really lucky this year to work with a lot of different directors and different genres, and I hope to continue that and meet more cool people,” she says.
Heretic is in theaters November 8.
Photographer: Josh Aikin
Stylist: Maren Taylor
Hairstylist: Jake Gallagher
Makeup Artist: Shelby Smith
