The terrifically tense Heretic will make you believe in the power of Hugh Grant

When Scott Beck and Bryan Woods emerged to introduce Heretic at a Fantastic Fest secret screening, the writing and directing duo framed the film around a particular narrative challenge they'd set for themselves. Because Beck and Woods are most famous for writing A Quiet Place, a high-concept thriller with very little dialogue, they wanted to prove they could make a thriller that's all about dialogue, the tension between characters, and the arguments they make when their lives might be on the line.

To meet this challenge, Beck and Woods chose arguably the most tense topic they could find, religion, and got Hugh Grant in the midst of his Villain Era (thanks, Paddington 2 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) to embody the most terrifying person in any religious sphere: a man who will not shut up about his convictions. It's a recipe for setting an audience on edge, and the more it simmers, the more Heretic proves itself a compelling, inventive thriller driven by three great central performances.

Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East play two Mormon missionaries, Sisters Barnes and Paxton, respectively, out making their rounds as a storm blows into town. As rain begins to fall, they knock on the door of Mr. Reed (Grant), a pleasant older man who'd expressed interest in knowing more about the church. They're not supposed to go inside without another woman present, for safety, but Mr. Reed is kind and encouraging—his wife's just back in the kitchen making pie—and the storm is getting worse. So, the women enter, and a robust theological discussion begins. It's interesting, if a bit awkward, but it turns terrifying when the girls realize that the "blueberry pie" they've been promised is actually a scented candle, and that Mr. Reed has no plans to give them an easy exit.

Beck and Woods' desire to let the dialogue drive the tension is obvious from the beginning. Much of Heretic plays out with the tempo and tension of a three-hander stage play, as Thatcher, East, and Grant move through various rooms in Mr. Reed's house, debating religious conviction and the origins of faith while also trying to puzzle out just what exactly this little game the old man is playing might really be about. Any film this laser-focused on religion—and the film touches on everything from Egyptian gods to the history of polygamy in the early Mormon church—runs the risk of being not just dry, but outright off-putting, and Beck and Woods are, blessedly, aware enough of this to keep the audience on its toes. 

What does religion have to do with one particular Radiohead song, or one particular precursor to the classic board game Monopoly, or blueberry pie, for that matter? Each of these things has a place, and they emerge in a throughline of wit and eccentricity that makes Heretic both easy to keep watching and startlingly funny. The laughs come often and easy, a welcome release from the tension that just keeps winding up and up like a fisherman's line slowly pulling in its catch.

That palpable tension grows from a multi-pronged approach which proves that Beck and Woods are still growing as writers and directors. They keep shredding the audience's nerves through everything from the slow buzz of timer-driven lights in Mr. Reed's house to the slow dripping of rainwater into a bamboo spout that clatters wonderfully every time it empties into a waiting receptacle. Then there's the production design, which immerses every sequence with lived-in detail ranging from the strange books on Mr. Reed's shelves to the dank corners of his foreboding cellar. Mr. Reed seems to have thought of everything, and his house is a reflection of that.

So, too, is Grant's performance. He embodies this strange man as equal parts creep, kind theologian, and imminently clever criminal, but in his interpretation Reed is, above all, a showman. Grant’s been on a tear weaponizing his rom-com charm and vulnerability for villainous roles, but even with that in mind, Heretic feels like a step up—an attempt to not just subvert our expectations but construct new ones around how far he's willing to push his own shifting persona. It's a bravura performance that commands the entire movie, but he's not alone. Thatcher and East match him step for step, and East in particular proves herself a talent to watch.

Where Heretic might lose some people is exactly where this twisted little discussion of faith is headed. The divisive turns it dares to take will leave some exhilarated and others frustrated. They are also part of the film's appeal and, more importantly, representative of the clarity of storytelling at work. Heretic's conclusions are there from the very beginning, not predictable or boring, but careful and elegant. It's the smartest script Beck and Woods have generated yet, regardless of how the third act may initially land. Divisiveness aside, and despite a few stumbles in pacing as it pivots from cool premise to interesting conclusion, Heretic is a wonderfully effective, chilling thriller from two of the best genre storytellers currently in the game.

Director: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods

Writer: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods

Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East

Release Date: November 8, 2024