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Heretic is a 2024 horror film from the directors of A Quiet Place. Directors Scott Beck and Brian Woods helmed this movie, which stars Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East.
Hereticm distributed by A24, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024. Following this, the film will be released theatrically in the United States on November 8, 2024. Reviews thus far have been glowing, with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film follows two missionaries of the Mormon church, who are working as traveling preachers. They visit an Englishman with the intention of converting him, only to stumble on dangers they could never have foreseen.
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The Heretic trailer takes cues from "deadly game" films
Going by the film's trailer, it appears to be influenced by films of the "deadly game" genre, like the Saw franchise. When Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are doing the rounds preaching their faith, they encounter a receptive Englishman known as Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant).
However, it doesn't take long for them to become suspicious of Reed's true motives, and when they try to leave, he makes it clear that walking away won't be that simple. In an apparent similarity to the Jigsaw killer, Reed ropes the two into a dangerous game in a twisted effort to test their characters.
What the game entails is left ambiguous in the trailer, there's some level of symbolism. One example is a diagram showing the layers of heaven and hell; Jerusalem's Paradiso and Lucifer's Inferno.
Having gotten into a sticky situation far more dire than they bargained for, Sister Barnes and Paxton have no choice but to go along with the game. And maybe, just maybe, they could somehow turn the tables on their captor.
Heretic will be released exclusively in theaters on November 8
Heretic premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024, and is set to have a wide theatrical release on November 8, 2024.
The film will be screened exclusively in theaters, with streaming and home media timelines currently unknown. Therefore, viewers looking to watch the film early should book their tickets.
The film has been well received by critics who've seen it, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus saying:
"Hugh Grant has infectious fun playing against type in Heretic, a religious horror that preaches the gospel of cerebral chills over cheap shocks."
Among the 97 reviews aggregated by the website, Empire Magazine's James Dyer praised Hugh Grant's performance, stating that this movie was a part of his "couldn't give a f*ck" era, with a "chaotically diverse" roster of films. He noted the parallels between Heretic and the Saw films, saying:
"It’s only when his mask begins to slip, that they — and we — begin to see something far more chilling staring back through scholarly bifocals. Imagine Jigsaw if he’d enjoyed a side-hustle in fusty academia and you won’t be far off the mark."
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press considered the film a thoughtful examination of religion that emerges "from a horror movie wrapper".
He was somewhat critical of the film's second half, which he considered "Imbalanced", but was overall impressed by how the film seamlessly transitioned from a discussion on theology into a horrific nightmare.
Heretic will be available exclusively in theaters on November 8, 2024.
