X
In Theaters Now
- 2024
- R
- A24
- 1 h 51 m
- 2024
- R
- A24
- 1 h 51 m
Summary Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Directed By: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Written By: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
In Theaters Now
- 2024
- R
- A24
- 1 h 51 m
- 2024
- R
- A24
- 1 h 51 m
Heretic
72
6.7
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Summary Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Directed By: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Written By: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 47 Critic Reviews
72
91% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
9% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 47 Critic Reviews
72
91% Positive
43 Reviews
43 Reviews
9% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Expect deep conversations to follow your screening.
Grant’s turn in Heretic is not just a great role that commands attention, it’s also a part that requires a dash of that Hugh Grant charm to pull off.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 User Ratings
6.7
73% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
12% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
15% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 33 User Ratings
6.7
73% Positive
24 Ratings
24 Ratings
12% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
15% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Chan-wook Park’s regular cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung trains his camera on dark, snaky corridors and Thatcher and East’s terrified faces as the Mormon girls realise the hopelessness of their predicament. It’s no fun for them, but it’s never dull for us.
Though the plot gets a tad thin toward the end, “Heretic” does a good job of pelting us with uncomfortable questions.
There’s something rattling around, somewhere in Heretic, dealing with the power and limitations of belief, a movie that aspires to the deviousness of something like Barbarian, to which its setting bears the mildest of superficial resemblance. At some point, it escapes into the night without much trace.
Fortunately, as directors Beck and Woods have become deviously adept at giving the audience what they want – rock-solid scares.
Heretic has been crafted with expert care, and the strong performances help carry this dialogue-driven thriller. The problem is that the film’s ideas are not particularly stimulating.
This movie is so intelligently done! Hugh Grant is amazing as a man who can pretend to be perfectly normal when he is actually cray cray. When two young lady Mormon missionaries knock on his door, they have no idea what they are getting themselves into. Normally, a movie so heavy on religious discussion would turn me off completely. But, the discussions are so integral to the film that I never became annoyed by them. Grant’s character is obviously intelligent as well as obsessed. I thought this was just an amazing movie, and all the performances were spot on. The two young women are perfect as the missionary robots that they have been taught to be. The atmosphere is suitably creepy too.
Report
Even though we had seen the trailer a lot before going in, Heretic was a pleasant surprise. Not only is it one of the best horror/thrillers of the year, but it also had one of Hugh Grant’s best performances to date.
While its premise is pretty simple overall, it capitalizes on that haunting and chilling performance by Hugh, and combined with great cinematography and use of sound, Heretic will leave you in tension from the moment the sisters knock on Mr. Reed’s door. The ending will also have you discussing this film for a while, trying to combine all the pieces.
Heretic is well worth checking out.
Report
I think Hugh Grant gives a superb performance along with Sophie Thatcher & Chloë East. This had tension & humour throughout. Even made you think in certain places. The film just works.
Report
No matter what anyone might say, putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t change the fact that one is still dealing with a pig. And that’s very much the case with this dismally failed attempt at smart horror from writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. When two naïve Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East) visit the remote home of a creepy, loquacious middle-aged loner (Hugh Grant) in an attempt to convert him, the trio launches into a protracted conversation about the nature of “the one true religion.” To a certain extent, it’s an intriguing philosophical discussion – at least for a while – until it gradually descends into a series of longwinded fits and starts characterized by disjointed, unrelated, unresolved segments that try viewer patience. The dialogue increasingly amounts to a series of overwrought contrivances undermined by implausible character development, particularly among the two supposed innocents who begin spouting lines that are difficult to accept in light of their supposedly gullible, unsophisticated nature and narrow worldview. But then, in a desperate attempt to retain fading audience attention, the picture degenerates into little more than a meandering slasher movie, albeit with better production design than one typically finds in such fare. What’s more, this offering’s exasperating script heavily “borrows” from an endless stream of religious, philosophical and cinematic sources, one even suggesting that this could turn into the second coming of “The Butterfly Effect” and “Matrix” franchises. And, while Grant and his co-stars genuinely deliver more than capable portrayals of the three principals, even their performances aren’t enough to cover the inherent weaknesses of this material, no matter how much lipstick is applied to it. Considering the foregoing, I’m truly mystified by the much-celebrated response this offering has been accorded given its tiresome narrative and pretentious, largely pointless overall direction, an experiment that just doesn’t work. As a fan of the smart horror genre and its aim of elevating the content of more classic releases in this area of cinema, I’m seriously disappointed that the inspired creators of “A Quiet Place” (2018) haven’t come up with something better here, an outcome that’s definitely heretical in itself.
Report
Production Company
A24,
Beck Woods,
Shiny Penny,
Catchlight Studios,
The Government of Canada Income Tax Credit Program
Release Date Nov 8, 2024
Duration 1 h 51 m
Rating R
Tagline Question everything.