Heretic

CinemaSerf

November 3, 2024

7/10

I suppose that many of us have had the god-squad on the doorstep trying to peddle their philosophising but I doubt many are quite as prepared, or as tempting, as the butter-wouldn't-melt "Reed" (Hugh Grant) when the enthusiastic sisters "Barnes" (Sophie Thatcher) and "Paxton" (Chloe East) arrive at his door. Promises of a meeting with his wife and some blueberry pie lure them in and soon they are having a meaningful debate that rather puts the girls on edge. That anxiety only gets worse as there…

griggs79

November 4, 2024

7/10

This is a gruesome, bizarre, preposterous, and utterly watchable film. It is a twisted cocktail made surprisingly digestible thanks to Grant's impeccably dapper portrayal of pure malevolence. His performance brings a sinister charm that tempers the madness, making the film's more outlandish horrors feel almost refined.

In the new film “Heretic”, two missionaries named Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) spend their days in fellowship and looking to bring new members into their faith. Sister Paxton is the more sheltered of the two as Sister Barnes comes from the East Coast and joined the church through conversion and appears much wiser in the ways of the world to her colleague. Eager to get her first new member for Sister Paxton; the two venture to visit Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), who …

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…

Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65, Haunt, writers of A Quiet Place), Heretic is a so-called psychological horror that is disappointing on all fronts. After only seeing the trailer once months ago, I initially thought that Heretic was a film about a serial killer (Hugh Grant) who used his crazy mouse trap-contraption house to lure in religious, door-to-door service people and kill them. While that is partially the case, Heretic follows two missionaries from The Church of J…

r96sk

June 25, 2025

8/10

<em>'Heretic'</em> has its cast to thank for me fully enjoying it. The plot is most certainly suitably entertaining, don't get me wrong, but by the end it was almost wearing a tiny bit thin - and perhaps would have if not for those on the screen. All in all, though, it's a fun psychological horror. Hugh Grant is tremendous in the main role, he is an actor that has the chops to do this genre - I've said it before, but I found his character in the <em>'Bridget Jones'</em> flicks to be creepy so…