‘Heretic’ review: Hugh Grant trades manners for menace in slick horror

When two young Mormon missionaries come knocking on the suburban Colorado door of Hugh Grant’s charming British gent Mr Reed, why would they suspect anything bad is about to happen? But Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Fabelmans) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, Yellowjackets) clearly haven’t read up on cinematic trends, because beneath Reed’s mask of kindness is a monster, played with gusto and probing intellect.

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Back in the ‘90s Grant’s loveable, foppish persona helped make Four Weddings And A Funeral a global smash, while Notting Hill further reinforced his posh, dithering charm. In the decades since he’s proven to be a versatile actor, with recent performances spotlighting him as a scene-stealing villain in romps such as The Gentlemen, Paddington 2 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Heretic‘s Reed is by far the most sadistic of the lot.

Sheltering from the grim weather in Reed’s cosy living room to discuss Mormon beliefs, Barnes and Paxton enquire about his wife, whom Reed insists is in another room. A condition of the young women entering the house to speak to him was that another woman is also present. Yet Reed is so easy-going, calm and interesting that the point isn’t insisted upon. Besides, Reed claims he has a pie baking and it does smell delicious…

Eventually, the prolonged absence of Reed’s wife causes the young pair to ignore another one of cinema’s red flags and investigate. Here, Heretic changes gear. Reed launches into an extended riff on the links between ‘The Air That I Breathe’ by The Hollies and its influences on Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ and Lana Del Rey’s ‘Get Free’, all of which ties into a big-picture discussion of religion, God and how the major religions share deep connections.

Amid all that fascinating chat, it becomes increasingly clear Reed’s motivations are extremely sinister and events inevitably descend into darkness. Once this happens, a few familiar horror tropes pop up, such as the use of a ghastly old hag and a damp dungeon, but these moves come in the context of a horror film that has been otherwise a rung above the rest. East and Thatcher are convincing as the Mormons who made a wrong turn and Grant is a loquacious delight in a role that could so easily have been a wad of demonic clichés. Lovers of Bridget Jones’s Diary always knew he was a cad but this is something else entirely. He’s never less than devilishly plausible and meticulous with every glance, grin and furrowed brow.

On the interview circuit Grant has been talking passionately about Heretic – something he doesn’t often do – an act that is indicative of its quality and his faith in its writer-directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. The American duo wrote and directed Adam Driver sci-fi clanger 65 but they also created the story for A Quiet Place. The wit, freshness and smartness with which they approached that post-apocalyptic monster film is to the fore in Heretic, which is among the best horror films of the year.

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