Heretic (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Two young religious women are drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse in the house of a strange man.

My Take – Joining the recent trend of casting known actors against their type is the latest A24 feature, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (famously known for co-writing 2018’s A Quiet Place ), which sees Hugh Grant, the charming British face of many classic romantic comedies of the past 30 years, play the main antagonist of a horror feature.

While he has played negative roles earlier before in underseen blockbusters like Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2022) and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), and of course the utterly delightful Paddington 2 (2017), what makes this role a true stand out is that it allows Grant to deliver a truly perplexing performance as a disturbing and terrifying villain.

But while he is indeed outstanding and handles his role with deft, it is the unpredictability and suspense of the narrative that makes the film a winner.

Set as a suspenseful exploration of faith, fear and the unknown, the elevated horror is a heady and playful nightmare that is driven entirely by its dialogue, conversation, debate, and sees words being used as weapons. Like its villain, it takes a dark pleasure in slowly easing its audience into malevolence. Offering a clever spin on holy horror by pitting its pious heroines not against a satanic threat but an arrogantly rational human one.

Yes, the slow-simmering first half is much better than its second, yet the film manages to keep you on the edge throughout. And of course, most of its deranged charge comes from Grant, who seems to be having the time of his life finding darkness under the pleasant hallmarks of his aging-star persona.

The story follows two young Mormon missionaries, the innocent Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and the marginally worldlier Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tasked with fulfilling an appointment the two find themselves at the house of a seemingly friendly older man named Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant).

Upon entering his home, the two learn that Mr. Reed is something of a religious scholar himself. And though he’s more than willing to talk about faith with his guests, there’s a certain edge to his friendliness, and around the time he broaches the topic of polygamy in their Church, it’s clear that he’s not just humoring the girls, and that he has sinister motives for letting them inside.

The film’s strongest scenes are those in the first half of the film, in which Reed disquietingly questions the girls’ beliefs while positing plausible alternatives. The monologues are constructed, for the full QT effect, around illustrative pop-culture touchstones: board game history, melodic FM plagiarism, a hilarious and unexpected Star Wars impersonation.

Even the one about religion raise genuinely interesting points, exploring the conflicts between faith and doubt, and the struggle to reconcile belief with the harsh realities of the world. His comparisons between religion, board games and popular music are especially provocative, challenging to reflect on one’s beliefs and the societal structures surrounding them.

The first hour of the film is nearly perfect, an expertly paced drift into madness and danger. But its only when writers-directors Beck and Woods descend into the darker depths the premise relinquishes its actual intentions. Eventually, it does evolve into something a bit more familiar, shedding the heart-pounding sense of pure wrongness that defines the first hour in favor of more action, violence, and traditional excitement.

Nevertheless, it’s all very well-executed, frequently terrifying and, honestly, probably the right choice to reach a wider audience. The horror elements are excellent, using long, still shots that heighten tension and rely on reaction shots.

The film doesn’t even shy away from gore, featuring intense slashes and kills that demand attention. It helps that Chung-hoon Chung‘s haunting cinematography ably captures the eerie isolation of Reed’s home, creating an atmosphere that is both beautiful and eerie.

Performances wise, Hugh Grant is diabolically wonderful as Mr. Reed, a graceful, educated gentleman obsessed with religion and with the idea of proving to two young Mormons that every religion is a farce. Such kind of a character wouldn’t have worked with any actor, but the British suavity of someone like Hugh Grant easily sells it.

Sophie Thatcher‘s Barnes, tough and quietly ferocious, balances perfectly balances Chloe East‘s Paxton, whose bubbly naïveté finds itself tested repeatedly and brutally as she’s dragged further into darkness. The young actresses simply do a very good job.

For some reason Topher Grace too appears in a minimal role which in the long run adds nothing to the narrative. On the whole, ‘Heretic‘ is a highly engrossing, suspenseful and edgy psychological horror that is throughout intense, chilling and sincere about the discussion of its ideas.