You may not think you need to see Hugh Grant sing Radiohead’s “Creep” in a cheerily menacing tone, and yet, let me assure you, you do. What about seeing him do a Jar Jar Binks impression while tormenting two young Mormon missionaries? Yes, that also happens in Heretic, the entertainingly goofy new horror film from A24 which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Don’t think too hard about Heretic—which has a lot of musings about faith and religion, none of which quite cohere. Just lean into Grant's lunacy and you'll have a fantastic time. It’s yet more proof that the former rom com star is having the time of his life in this new phase of his career where he uses his charm to play weirdos and baddies.
Heretic comes from writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, best known for coming up with the concept for A Quiet Place and writing the first movie in that franchise alongside John Krasinski. Here they focus on Sister Barnes (Yellowjackets’ Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (The Fabelmans’ Chloe East), who are traipsing around a mountain town with their bikes looking for people to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
