A sharp, talky cat-and-mouse horror-thriller that leans on performance, theology, and psychological pressure more than gore. It’s especially effective if you like chamber-piece suspense with a nasty streak and a sly sense of humor.
Heretic
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Thriller · Horror
Thu · 1h 51m
Director: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
Overview
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Director
Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Cast
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, talky cat-and-mouse horror-thriller that leans on performance, theology, and psychological pressure more than gore. It’s especially effective if you like chamber-piece suspense with a nasty streak and a sly sense of humor.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy dialogue-driven horror
Fans of psychological cat-and-mouse thrillers
Audiences interested in faith, doubt, and manipulation
People who like darkly comic villain monologues
Skip if
You want nonstop action or big set-piece horror
You dislike films built around extended speeches and debates
You prefer subtle menace over overtly theatrical antagonists
You are looking for a purely supernatural or slasher experience
Overview
Heretic turns a simple premise into a tense, increasingly unnerving duel of beliefs, wills, and survival. The movie is at its best when it treats conversation like a weapon, using theology, pop culture, and social awkwardness to keep the trap tightening around its characters.
Worth noting
Hugh Grant is the engine here, playing against expectation with a performance that is charming, smug, and deeply unsettling in equal measure. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East give the film a grounded emotional center, which helps the movie stay tense even when it gets more idea-heavy than visceral.
Bottom line
It’s not a broad crowd-pleaser, and some viewers will find the monologue-heavy structure repetitive. But if you like horror that feels like an argument slowly curdling into a nightmare, this is a smart, nasty little thriller with real personality.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Stacey (2.5★) · 41601 likes
Jigsaw if he was an insufferable reddit atheist
𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙩 (4★) · 33793 likes
no fucking way hugh grant just compared jesus to jar jar binks
Tom (2.5★) · 27591 likes
i shit you not hugh grant meows not even a second after singing radiohead
Katie Walsh · 21760 likes
It actually IS my greatest fear to be trapped by a man into listening to his monologues about culture and philosophy. (My review)
GiGi (4★) · 20482 likes
date idea: you come over and I quiz you on board games, religion, and Radiohead.
Themes
faith and doubt, religious manipulation, psychological captivity, cat-and-mouse tension, power dynamics, identity and belief, dark satire, social discomfort
Topics
psychological horror, thriller, religious horror, chamber piece, cat-and-mouse, dark satire, tense, dialogue-driven, 2020s, moral manipulation