There is a song that plays over the end credits of the 2024 horror movie Heretic that many people don’t realize plays into the exact themes of the film itself. Directed by Scott Beck, Hugh Grant stars in Heretic as Mr. Reed, a man who invites two Mormon missionaries into his home to let them introduce him to their religion and try to save his soul. While he seems nice at first, the two young women realize he has trapped them in his home and their lives are in danger.

In Heretic, Mr. Reed debates the two young women about their religion, and he offers them several options to prove their faith in God. However, the principal theme of his argument is that all religions are iterations of each other. Reed has been searching for the real “true” religion for decades, and he believes they are all just copies of each other with slight variations. However, in his mind, these religions are all false and there is only darkness after death. After Heretic ends, a song plays that teases these themes.

Heretic’s Final Song Is Another “Iteration”

Sophie Thatcher Covers ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’

The movie ends with a song by one of Heretic’s stars, Sophie Thatcher. The actress played missionary Sister Barnes in the horror film and she might or might not have escaped at the end, depending on how the viewer interprets the last moments of the story. However, it is the choice of song that is most notable when comparing it to the themes of the movie. Thatcher covered the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.”

It is also a good choice since Mr. Reed went on a tangent in the film about cover songs being similar to organized religions. He mentioned “Creep” by Radiohead and how it was an iteration of the Hollies’ “The Air That I Breathe.” He then points out that Lana Del Rey copies “Creep” later in “Get Free,” and that kept the sound going. For Thatcher, she used the sound of “Fade Into You” by Mazzie Star, but sang it using the lyrics from “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” proving the point.

What Heretic Ending With An Iteration Means For The Movie’s Message

The Song Being An Iteration Compares Well With Religion

“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is an interesting cover song as Thatcher put her own spin on it, and she channeled Mazzy Star in the delivery of Dylan’s lyrics. That this is a cover song, done in a unique style from the original, really plays into the ideas that Mr. Reed preached where he said everything is an iteration of something else. With the last song being an iteration of a beloved classic and a popular hit, it plays into that message perfectly.

That Mr. Reed insists in Heretic that various organized religions are nothing more than iterations of each other, but with slight differences, remains the prevailing theme of the film’s story. The song over the credits is just another way to show that, and it helps that the lyrics play into the themes of death and the beyond as well. Thatcher explained her thoughts on the song choice in an interview (via Rolling Stone):

“The cover version feels very melancholic and feminine, and more dreamy and atmospheric, whereas [Dylan’s] is far more straightforward. There’s so many parallels to the movie that it was almost an obvious choice… within this cover, it was essentially ‘Fade into You’ but ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.’ It was clever, and it works well at the end of the movie to put a little ribbon on it.”

While Hugh Grant’s villain ensured viewers knew the connection between musical artists making their own iterations of other songs and then claiming it as their own, Sophie Thatcher did the same thing with her choice of a cover in the end credits. It was just the ultimate argument that nothing is original and Heretic knew this when placing this specific song at the end of the film.

Source: Rolling Stone