--- title: "Heretic" year: 2024 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/heretic" fi1m_id: "heretic" imdb_id: "tt28015403" tmdb_id: 1138194 wikidata_id: "Q122933268" fi1m_score: 70 critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-09" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:57.559156+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Heretic (2024) Directed by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods · 1h 51m · MPA R · Thriller, Horror ## Identity Heretic - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/heretic - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** heretic - **IMDb ID:** tt28015403 - **TMDB ID:** 1138194 - **Wikidata ID:** Q122933268 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28015403/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1138194, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122933268 **Fi1m score: 70** · Critics 71 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* Two missionaries knock on the wrong door and Hugh Grant has been waiting his whole career to answer it > Hugh Grant turns thirty years of bashful charm into something you back away from, and for an hour this locked-house horror is sharp, funny and properly tense. Then the second half arrives, and it is the ordinary horror film the first half had been laughing at. ## Synopsis Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are young Mormon missionaries working a small American town door to door as a storm comes in. Their last call of the day is Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), a courteous, bookish man who says he has been reading their scripture and would like to talk. He invites them in, tells them his wife is in the kitchen, and begins to ask questions about faith that grow less polite as the afternoon darkens. Topher Grace plays Elder Kennedy, the man expected to notice if they do not return. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, it runs 111 minutes and carries a 15 certificate. ## Review Two young women in long skirts and name badges knock on a door in a small American town as the weather turns. Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are Mormon missionaries, and the man who answers, Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), is the first person all day to seem pleased to see them. He has questions. He has read their book. He asks them in, and the door, once shut, stays shut. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who wrote *A Quiet Place*, have made a horror film in which, for an hour, nobody is chased and nobody bleeds and we were as frightened as we have ever been by three people talking in a front room. Then the second half arrives and spends the goodwill. It is still worth your evening. Grant is the reason. He plays Reed with every trick he has spent thirty years being loved for: the apologetic stammer, the hand raised to stop himself mid-sentence, the small laugh at his own cleverness. Betsy Heimann puts him in a cardigan and reading glasses and he looks like a man who would apologise for the rain. Then he starts to talk about religion, by way of a lecture on board games, and the same stammer that was charming starts to frighten. We laughed at his first few lines, and at some point we noticed we had stopped, and could not say which line had done it. He manages all of this without once raising his voice. Thatcher and East are not there to scream. Barnes is the wary one, older in the ways that count, watching Reed’s hands while he talks about his wife in the next room; Paxton is eager, a little silly, and the film keeps letting her be cleverer than she looks. Their whispered exchanges while he is elsewhere in the house are short and exact about what it is to be a young woman selling faith door to door and being told where to sit. Topher Grace turns up as Elder Kennedy, the man who is meant to notice if they do not come back, and does what the part needs in a handful of scenes. Chung Chung-hoon lights the front room with table lamps and a fire, so it looks like anyone’s grandmother’s house, and he holds on faces during the long speeches rather than cutting away for reactions, which leaves us to decide who is winning. Philip Messina’s house is the film’s best trick after Grant: lace, patterned wallpaper, a room a shade too tidy. Justin Li lets whole exchanges run without a cut, and when the cuts do come they land like a raised eyebrow. Chris Bacon’s score stays low under the talk, which is the right choice. The second half takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that the film that follows is the one the first hour was mocking: corridors, a blade, somebody crawling, a run of reveals that get smaller as they arrive. The argument about belief, which had been the thing under threat, is put down and not picked up again. Reed says a great deal, and the writers have a good excuse for never deciding whether any of it is true, because he might be lying; in the last half hour that excuse becomes the whole plan. By the closing stretch we were watching a man with a knife and wondering where the man with the argument had gone, and we were disappointed rather than scared. Most critics have landed roughly where we have, admiring the first hour and forgiving the rest, and the forgiveness is earned. [*Misery*](https://film.one/film/misery) understood that a locked room and a talker are enough; [*The Wicker Man*](https://film.one/film/the-wicker-man) understood that a religious argument can be a horror film all by itself. *Heretic* knows both those things for an hour, and then reaches for a knife. See it for Grant, who has found a use for his charm nobody had thought of, and for two young actresses who hold their own against it. It runs 111 minutes and carries a 15. Bring someone who likes to argue afterwards; the film will have started the argument and then walked out on it. *Fi1m score 70, published 9 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Nearly every review starts with Hugh Grant, and most end there too: the consensus is that his turn as Mr Reed, the genial host who becomes a tormentor, is the reason to see the film, with his familiar charm turned to menace. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East draw steady praise as the missionaries, and several critics single out the dialogue and the tension of the first hour. The reservations cluster around what follows. Most reviewers find the second half more conventional, trading argument for standard scares, and a good number think the film’s ideas about faith are thinner than its talk suggests. The spread is fairly narrow, with most landing at four stars or thereabouts. The dissent is sharper than it is wide: Screen Daily finds it handsomely made but empty, and the Evening Standard finds it tedious and unscary, with Grant let down by the material. The Telegraph enjoys the first hour but thinks the ending loses its nerve. ## Straight answers **Is Heretic worth watching?** *Heretic* is worth watching, chiefly for Hugh Grant, and we scored it 70. The first hour, three people arguing about faith in a lamplit front room, is sharp, funny and as tense as anything we have seen this side of a chase; the second half becomes an ordinary knife-and-corridors horror film. Suits anyone who likes talk before terror and can forgive a fall-off. **How long is Heretic, and what is it rated?** *Heretic* runs 1h 51m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a thriller and horror film. **Where can I watch Heretic in the US?** *Heretic* is streaming on Hulu and Disney+ in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $4.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Heretic, and is it suitable for children?** *Heretic* carries a 15 certificate and is not for children. Its first hour is frightening through conversation alone, with no chasing and no blood; the second half brings a blade, corridors and somebody crawling, and turns into a more conventional horror film. Teenagers of fifteen and over who can sit through sustained menace should manage it; the squeamish should know the violence arrives late. **How does Heretic compare to The Wicker Man?** *Heretic* and [*The Wicker Man*](https://film.one/film/the-wicker-man) both make a religious argument the source of the horror, but the earlier film keeps that argument alive to the end while *Heretic* abandons it for a knife after an hour. *The Wicker Man* is stiffer in places yet the more complete film; *Heretic* has the better single performance in Hugh Grant. Choose Hardy's film for lasting unease, Beck and Woods's for a first hour of front-room dread. **What should I watch after Heretic?** After *Heretic*, try [*The Wicker Man*](https://film.one/film/the-wicker-man) (1973, Fi1m 90): A policeman argues theology with an island that has already made up its mind. Then [*Misery*](https://film.one/film/misery) (1990, Fi1m 83): One house, one talker, one guest who cannot leave; Kathy Bates does the rest; and [*Saint Maud*](https://film.one/film/saint-maud) (2019, Fi1m 82): Faith as a horror film from the inside, in a Scarborough bedsit, in 84 minutes. ### Reviews we read (27) - **The AV Club** (B+): The terrifically tense thriller is powered by Hugh Grant's showman-like villain performance that subverts expectations. It features inventive storytelling and strong central turns but may divide viewers with its third-act choices and pacing. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/heretic-review) - **Little White Lies**, Leila Latif (4/4/4): Hugh Grant is a horror natural in this effective psychological horror about two Mormon missionaries who encounter more than they bargained for. The film is ingenious in its casting and inventive theological torment, though the final act leans into more prototypical horror. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/heretic) - **Radio Times**, Jeremy Aspinall (4/5): This creepy, slow-burning horror thriller puts the faith of young Mormon missionaries to the test in a cat-and-mouse chamber piece. Grant is a revelation shifting from genial to frightening, matched by the strong performances of the leads. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-7opsoi/heretic/) - **Time Out**, Olly Richards (4/5): Hugh Grant is inspired casting as the unsettling villain in this spooky house chiller that mixes jump scares with intelligent questions. The directors find their feet with a tremendously enjoyable horror that twists Grant's charm into something distinctly unsettling. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/heretic-review-2024) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): Grant's riveting, poisoned-charm turn as the eerie Mr. Reed is the film's standout, elevating the three-hander horror. The film leverages his persona effectively in a story of faith-testing captivity and moral darkness. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/heretic-hugh-grant-was-born-to-play-the-villain.html) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (B): Hugh Grant delivers a heavenly, riveting turn as the sinister host in this verbose A24 chamber horror. The film has tense and funny moments testing faith but remains too polite for true sacrilege or deeper provocation. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/heretic-movie-review-hugh-grant-1235045862/) - **Sight and Sound** (55/100, inferred): The film is a gimmicky, zeitgeist-surfing theological horror in which Hugh Grant entraps two Mormon missionaries for a life-or-death religious debate. The setup has a genuine tingle and strong performances, but it shifts into unconvincing Grand Guignol and plot gimmicks. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/heretic-hugh-grant-uses-his-charming-persona-draw-blood-this-creepy-theological-horror) - **Screen Daily** (45/100, inferred): Hugh Grant plays a verbose tormentor in this elegant but ultimately empty horror-thriller about two missionaries trapped in a house for a debate on faith. The premise is simple and performances strong, but the ideas are not particularly stimulating and the film fails to fully enrapture or horrify. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/heretic-toronto-review/5197009.article) - **Evening Standard**, Nick Howells (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film tedious and unscary, a hackneyed horror with religion-bashing lectures that fail to deliver. Grant's performance is decent but undermined by the weak material and direction. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/heretic-review-not-hugh-grant-oscar-moment-b1191019.html) - **Empire**, James Dyer: The critic praises the film's tense, intellectual bottle horror and Hugh Grant's chilling turn as the lead antagonist. It highlights the strong performances, meticulous dialogue, and social politeness weaponized for suspense, though the second half loses some edge. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/heretic/) - **Financial Times**, Danny Leigh (★★★☆☆): The critic describes the film as a likeably offbeat and mischievous showcase for Grant upending his typecasting with grandstanding monologues. It notes giggles amid the peril but finds the second half duller and more generic once the sisters go to the basement. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/587ef8f1-4130-46f5-b322-447dfa12952c) - **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh: The critic calls it a deftly acted chamber piece that weaponizes Hugh Grant's familiar charm into menace while giving the young missionary characters intelligence and agency. She praises the strong performances and dialogue but notes some predictable horror tropes and plot mechanics. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-07/heretic-review-hugh-grant-sophie-thatcher-chloe-east-a24-horror) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic praises Hugh Grant's dapper and mischievous performance as the villainous Mr Reed, which makes the film's gruesome and preposterous elements palatable. The review highlights the chamber-piece structure involving two Mormon missionaries drawn into a psychological game of terror. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/31/heretic-review-religious-horror-with-a-suave-dapper-and-evil-hugh-grant) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Lovia Gyarkye: The critic highlights Hugh Grant's reptilian, persuasive performance as the villainous Mr. Reed in this religious horror chamber piece. The film excels in tense intellectual sparring and performances by the leads but falters with a shallow screenplay that avoids deeper critique of faith. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/heretic-review-hugh-grant-1235996470/) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis: The critic finds the film an engaging horror thriller in which Hugh Grant delivers a wily, vamping performance as a seemingly charming host who turns menacing. She singles out Grant's against-type turn and the film's effective build of suspense in an ordinary home turned slaughterhouse. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/movies/heretic-review-hugh-grant.html) - **The Telegraph**, Tim Robey: The critic finds Grant the best reason to see the film and wickedly enjoyable in his macabre role tormenting trapped missionaries with rhetorical hokum. The film is praised for its first hour but criticized for ending with a whimper due to risk aversion. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/heretic-review-hugh-grant/) - **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★★★☆): The critic notes Grant has completed his journey to psychopathic monster in this sophisticated religion-themed horror that blends tropes with intellectual sophistication. Grant's late-career evil phase is highlighted as the best element. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/heretic-film-review-hugh-grant-3d2k36pd6) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge: The critic describes it as a talky, thought-provoking thriller that benefits greatly from Hugh Grant's chillingly against-type performance as a diabolical religious skeptic. He singles out Grant for making the film an entertaining ride but finds the ideas shallower than they first appear. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/heretic-review-hugh-grant-1236145209/) - **Deadline**, Damon Wise (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a smart, subversive horror-thriller that mixes genre conventions with playful commentary on belief and religion. Hugh Grant's turn as the diabolical Mr. Reed is highlighted as a standout that dismantles his rom-com image. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/09/heretic-review-hugh-grant-scott-beck-bryan-woods-smart-horror-thriller-toronto-film-festival-1236083730/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4/5): The critic praises Hugh Grant's spellbinding performance as the menacing Mr. Reed, highlighting the film's intellectual debate on religion and belief. They note some third-act issues but overall call it a wicked entertainment that hooks the audience. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/heretic-review-hugh-grant-is-a-devil/) - **/Film**, Jacob Hall (8/10): The critic calls it an excellent dialogue-driven religious thriller with sharp tension, smart protagonists, and standout performances, particularly Hugh Grant's menacing yet charming villain. It excels in its contained first half but becomes a more conventional crowd-pleaser later. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1671963/heretic-review-hugh-grant-a24-horror-movie/) - **NME**, Lou Thomas (4/5): The critic commends Hugh Grant's devilishly plausible and meticulous performance as the sadistic Mr. Reed, along with the convincing portrayals by East and Thatcher. They highlight the film's witty, fresh, and smart approach, calling it among the best horror films of the year. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/heretic-review-hugh-grant-horror-3807614) - **Consequence** (B): Hugh Grant's charismatic yet menacing performance as Mr. Reed makes the film noteworthy as it explores religion through locked-house horror tropes. The nasty journey offers little catharsis and leaves viewers with diminished faith in humanity. [Read](https://consequence.net/2024/11/heretic-review-hugh-grant/) - **The Playlist**, Ankit Jhunjhunwala (B): The critic finds the film a compelling drama of ideas about religion, cleverly disguised as a horror-thriller with strong performances from the three leads, especially Hugh Grant's charmingly creepy turn. It loses some intelligence when shifting to conventional scares and has a few predictable moments. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/heretic-review-hugh-grants-charming-creepiness-anchors-a24s-heady-chatty-horror-thriller-tiff-20240910/) - **The Wrap** (75/100, inferred): The review calls the film a feast of comedy and horror that uses religion to explore Mr. Reed's madness through psychological techniques and intellectually stimulating dialogue. Hugh Grant is singled out for his charming yet dastardly performance as the demonic homeowner. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/heretic-review-hugh-grant-a24-horror/) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a clever twist on religious horror that prioritizes discussion of faith over scares, bolstered by strong performances especially Hugh Grant's villainous turn. The narrative loses steam in the final third. [Read](https://collider.com/heretic-movie-review/) - **Paste**, Jesse Hassenger (7.0): The performances by Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East elevate the film's winding dialogues and maze-like structure into an entertaining watch. Ultimately it feels like a clever but shallow screenwriter exercise that lacks deeper thematic resonance beyond its gimmicks. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/hugh-grant/heretic-hugh-grant-sophie-thatcher-chloe-east-horror-movie-review-2024) ## Details - **Director:** Scott Beck, Bryan Woods - **Director:** Scott Beck, Bryan Woods - **Writer:** Bryan Woods, Scott Beck - **Cinematography:** Chung Chung-hoon - **Editor:** Justin Li - **Music:** Chris Bacon - **Production design:** Philip Messina - **Costume design:** Betsy Heimann - **Producer:** Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, Stacey Sher - **Cast:** Hugh Grant as Mr. Reed; Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes; Chloe East as Sister Paxton; Topher Grace as Elder Kennedy; Leanne Khol Young as Prophet; Julie Lynn-Mortensen as Pedestrian; Haylie Hansen as Teenager; Elle McKinnon as Teenager - **Runtime:** 1h 51m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 8 November 2024 - **Genres:** Thriller, Horror - **Budget:** $10 million - **Box office:** $52 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpWUOxRozZg ## Where to watch in the US - Hulu: streaming, uhd - Disney+: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $4.99, uhd - Apple TV: rent $5.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd - Apple TV: buy $19.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AE, AT, AU, BR, CA, CL, CO, DE, DK, FI, FR, GB, IN, IT, JP, MX, NO, NZ, PT, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Wicker Man* (1973), Fi1m 90: A policeman argues theology with an island that has already made up its mind — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-wicker-man.md) - *Misery* (1990), Fi1m 83: One house, one talker, one guest who cannot leave; Kathy Bates does the rest — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/misery.md) - *Saint Maud* (2019), Fi1m 82: Faith as a horror film from the inside, in a Scarborough bedsit, in 84 minutes — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/saint-maud.md) - *Speak No Evil* (2022): Danish politeness keeps a family at a dinner table long after they should have left - *Barbarian* (2022), Fi1m 77: A rental house, a door that should stay shut, and a very different sort of host — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/barbarian.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/heretic