New Hugh Grant horror movie Heretic gets thumbs up from critics

Heretic sees Hugh Grant tap into his dark side as an evil Scottish man in this horror thriller.

The film, rated 15A, is the handiwork of the writers of A Quiet Place, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.

Heretic charts the journey of two Mormon missionaries – Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) – attempting to convert a Scottish man named Mr. Reed (Grant) to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The young missionaries’ house call becomes a deadly game of cat-and-mouse as the diabolical Mr. Reed traps them in his home and they have to fall back on their faith to make it out alive.

Ahead of its release, the film currently holds a 93% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with positive reviews, many praising Grant’s show-stopping performance. 

The Irish Times writes: “In Heretic he puts a diabolical, uniquely Grantian spin on the baddies of Paddington 2 and Dungeons & Dragons.”

Little White Lies write Grant is a “horror natural” and that “Grant’s sweetest spot is when his sadism lies behind the thinnest veil of politeness, and while the final act has some impressively f**ked up moments, they are more prototypical horror flick than the inventive theological torment that came prior.”

“Grant’s crooked grin and self-deprecating humor draw them in,” AwardsWatch adds. “The viewer knows there is something sinister behind the affable chatter, but it’s easy to understand why the sisters would trust him so easily.”

TimeOut notes there are times when the film’s “internal religious debate” becomes too inflated but that Beck and Woods “always quickly find their way back to skincrawling, seat-squirming horror.”

The review notes: “And it’s a tremendously enjoyable type of horror, full of giggle-inducing jump scares, but sending you off with some intelligent questions to gnaw on.

“And after watching Grant terrorise two innocent victims, you may never be able to enjoy Paddington 2 in the same way again.”