HERETIC

****

Directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods.

Starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East.

Horror, US, 110 minutes, Certificate 15.

Released in cinemas in the UK by Entertainment Film Distributors on 31st October

Hugh Grant’s late career shift from romantic lead to dodgy, slightly sinister ageing man of cinema continues to pay off not only for him, but for audiences. This theological shocker from A QUIET PLACE screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, following up their own underseen directorial debut HAUNT, not only provides Grant with his first role in the horror genre since Ken Russell’s gloriously daft THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM from 1988, but possibly his finest role ever in what is one of the smartest and most entertaining horror films of this year.

Fans of YELLOWJACKETS will be happy to see Sophie Thatcher getting a meaty starring role here as Sister Barnes, a Mormon missionary, who along with Sister Paxton are seeking out prospective converts. Knocking on the door of Mr. Reed, they are invited in by the welcoming English gentleman, with the promise of freshly baked blueberry pie from his wife. This genial host’s questions however soon turn from a tone of genuine interest to something more needling and hostile. Grant’s natural charm with his chummy, plummy and slightly bumbling tones go a long way to masking a more sinister intention for his guests that will challenge their faith and threaten their lives. 

This is a surprisingly small scaled film. It comes across as slightly theatrical with its limited locations and surprisingly literate dialogue. Only surprising in that Beck and Woods made their name with the QUIET PLACE franchise, a series of films where a lack of dialogue was a necessity. HERETIC is very much the opposite, with Grant calmly and charmingly dominating the screen with his philosophical musings on religion and faith which are every bit as rattling for the cinema audience as well as his own captive audience.

If this sounds slightly heavy going and dry, then rest assured it is anything but. From the opening scene this is engrossing stuff that slowly sinks its hooks into the viewer. Because we know what type of film this is we expect to be unsettled but Beck and Woods expertly dial up the tension minute by minute as soon as Sisters Barnes and Paxton  cross the threshold into Mr. Reed’s home with its small narrow windows and constantly short circuiting electricity. This is all captured beautifully by Chung-hoon Chung’s cinematography, which is every bit as stylish as his celebrated collaborations with Park Chan-wook.

Increasingly dark in tone and subject matter, this is thrilling stuff that keeps the viewer guessing right up until the end and long after leaving the cinema. Grant’s performance will no doubt be the draw for many but he is more than ably supported by Sophie Thatcher as the strong willed Barnes and Chloe East as the less sure of herself Sister Paxton. It is a trio of performances that will go down as some of the strongest of the year. To say anymore of the film's plot and how it proceeds after its opening set-up would rob the viewer of some of the biggest surprises of the year to be found on a cinema screen. Providing as much in the way of a provocative philosophy on religion as well as straight up horror thrills and shocks, this complete surprise of a film will no doubt be recognised as a touchstone in Grant’s career but should just as importantly be recognised as a massive stepping stone for Beck and Woods also.

Iain MacLeod