Some years we shared a house with college friends who had also graduated and without fail every Sunday morning, having had a big Saturday night out, we would have the Mormons knocking at our door asking if we’d like to meet Jesus. It quickly became a regular Sunday morning irritant when we’d only just arrived home about an hour before they turned up on the door step. Determined to stop this cycle of unwanted Sunday morning alarm calls we answered the door naked. An off putting sight for anyone having to speak to someone displaying what can be described as the last turkey in the shop. Perhaps more disconcerting was the answer to their question about would we like to meet Jesus when we told them, ‘He’s here, in the kitchen having coffee. Come on in and say hello, why don’t you?’ They never called again. That’s not quite the case here with Heretic. Sister Barnes ( Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Sophie East) are two young members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, going door to door and, worse than us answering the door, it’s Mr Reed (Hugh Grant) who invites them in having previously made enquiries with them for further information.
Assuring them that his wife is in the kitchen making blueberry pie they accept, enter, settle down and begin to chat. Let the games begin. What starts off as an enthusiastic exchange of views and questions soon ramps up to potentially life threatening circumstances from which there seems potentially no escape and their personal safety ever more in jeopardy by their initial fear of appearing rude and disrespectful to him. It’s all slowly ratcheted up with a quite brilliant and arguably the best scene in the film as Grant’s Mr Reed deconstructs world religion using monopoly boards and a Radiohead v The Hollies thesis taking in Jar Jar Binks along the way. It’s a scene with much food for thought to instigate much debate after the film and ensuing that this is likely to be Richard Hawkins favourite film of the year.
At its core Heretic is a three hander and Hugh Grant has firmly left those rom-coms behind him in a role that sees him initially charming, endearing, slightly eccentric but ultimately deeply disturbed. Grant is sensationally unhinged and the past ten years has seen him re-establish himself as one of our great actors after widely diverse films that have taken in Florence Foster Jenkins, Paddington 2, Dungeons & Dragons and The Gentlemen. He’s matched by Sophie Thatcher & Chloe East who handle their roles with aplomb having to counter his argument that they have built their lives on a lie.
Written and directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods whose previous films have included the Quiet Place trilogy they know how to build up the tension even if it does not quite manage to sustain it through the final act, But heretic is superior horror with plenty of food for thought making it one of the years best films.
related feature : a murderous Mickey Mouse in The Mouse Trap – director Jamie Bailey & star Simon Phillips takes us BTS and the Disney copyright nightmare!
related feature : How Hugh Grant got cast as an Oompa Loompa in Wonka…..
Here’s the Heretic trailer……
