Some religions request/require their followers to go door-to-door spreading the word of…their religion. Sounds kind of scary on both ends, doesn’t it? Well, that’s the crux of A24’s horror movie Heretic.

Heretic is about two Latter-day Saints missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher from Yellowjackets) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East from The Fablemans), who happen to knock upon the door of a man named Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant from, well, just about everything, but most recently Wonka). At first, it seems like a normal “can we tell you about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior” kind of experience, but when Mr. Reed invites the two girls inside for some blueberry pie, things get a little awkward. Mr. Reed puts the girls through their paces with his philosophical questions about their religion, but his testing doesn’t stop with mere conversation.

In a year full of religious horror (see Immaculate, The First Omen, The Exorcism, etc.), Heretic is not at all what one would expect it to be. It would seem as though the movie, written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (the pair that wrote A Quiet Place), would be about a psycho tormenting a pair of good-girl missionaries. And it is. But it’s not the kind of torment that one would think.

Heretic is a very wordy movie, with Mr. Reed deciding to use philosophy and power to try to get the girls to question their own faith. And he’s done his homework – as a “religious scholar,” he’s familiar with most (if not all) of the world’s major religions, and he is able to poke holes in the girl’s beliefs easier than he’d be able to poke holes in their skin with a knife.

Mr. Reed’s argument is very convincing. He compares the world’s religions to board games and pop music, basically drawing comparisons and pointing out that they all come from the same place. He also believes that he has found “the one true religion,” which both fascinates and terrifies the girls. For religious folks, that may be the scariest part of Heretic: that it forces one to confront their own beliefs critically.

Now, there is actual scary, horror-movie stuff that happens in Heretic. It’s not all Hugh Grant picking apart his Mormon prey’s belief systems. But, by the time the movie gets to the gore, it’s almost too late. The audience is already intrigued by Mr. Reed’s thesis, and kind of wants to hear more. Make no mistake, Mr. Reed is absolutely the villain in Heretic, but he has a few good points, and he’s articulate enough to force an audience to listen.

Speaking of Hugh Grant, the acting in Heretic is commendable. It’s essentially a three-person show, sort of unfolding a bit like a stage play, and each character plays off of the other very well. The Sisters have each been brought to their church through different means, Sister Paxton was born into it while Sister Barnes was converted, and one can feel the difference in their commitment. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East are both note-perfect in their respective portrayals, Thatcher’s Barnes more streetwise and worldly than the naïve Paxton.

Which brings us to Hugh Grant. As relatable as one or the other of the Sisters are to the viewer, it is Grant who steals the show. Mr. Reed is one of those creepily intelligent antagonists, one who wounds with his words and not with his hands. Grant is supremely up for the task, breathing terrifying life into the words with which he is challenging the minds of his victims. He doesn’t just say his lines, he oozes them with sarcasm, charm, wit, and confidence. This is right up there with his villainous performance in Paddington 2.

Thankfully, Heretic is not a possession movie. That already sets it above the pack as far as religious horror goes, as possessions are almost as passé as zombies and vampires at this point. This is more of a psychological horror movie, one that seeps into the mind more than it churns the stomach or hastens the heartbeat. Some horror purists might argue that it’s not scary enough, or that it’s not gory enough, or that it talks too much. And they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. But Heretic doesn’t need all that. It makes its point nicely without it.

GRADE: B

MPAA Rating: R for some bloody violence
Release Date: November 8, 2024 (limited) and November 15th (expands)
Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Studio: A24