In ‘Heretic,’ Hugh Grant Is a Terrifying Theo Bro

Heretic is a litany of theological inquiries wrapped in the skin of a horror movie. Like Legion, the frights of directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ film are many, but its biggest scare isn’t demonic or paranormal or gory: It’s the unique terror of being caught in a theological conversation with a self-righteous man.

There are few worse theo bros you could debate than Mr. Reed, played by a suave yet menacing Hugh Grant, who takes his decades-worth of romcom charisma and remixes it into something altogether unholy. Mr. Reed oscillates between amicable and menacing, underscoring how evil manifests in complex and multifaceted ways in our world. The film rattles viewers not just through jump scares or unsettling imagery (though there are plenty of those), but through the way it explores the complex reality of having to live out one’s faith honestly in a broken and fallen world. In this way, Heretic is a chilling sermon on the dangers of greeting the world’s tragedies with Sunday-school answers and shallow platitudes. The new horror movie champions a faith that isn’t afraid of complexity and uncertainty.

The unfortunate women who have to endure Mr. Reed’s monologues are Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East). The two Mormon missionaries knock at his door on a rainy day after learning that he was curious to know more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he invites them inside, the sisters politely decline, as custom forbids them from entering into a house if another woman is not present. After Mr. Reed reassures them that his wife is just in the kitchen baking a blueberry pie, the young women eagerly accept. Though they take note of the offputting idiosyncrasies of his house (the windows are tiny and few and far between and his lights are on a timer), they’re comforted by his hospitality and his genuine interest in Mormonism.

This balancing act of unease and comfort is masterfully conducted by cinematographer Chung-hoon Chun. By often keeping his lens zoomed in on a character’s face, we’re able to trace every nervous emotion of Barnes and Paxton as the minutes tick by and the pie (and Mr. Reed’s wife) are nowhere in sight. The effect is claustrophobic: The young women are locked in a mental and eventually physical battle with Mr. Reed.

Indeed, soon Mr. Reed reveals his less-than-altruistic reasons for inviting the women into his home. He shares that he has studied Mormonism and many of the world’s religions. His research has led to religious disillusionment, and, eager to mount a defense of his unbelief, he has taken it upon himself to test if the women’s faith is genuine.

Mr. Reed lampoons how LDS church founder Joseph Smith justified his desires for polygamy by claiming that such an act was ordained by God. If humans are fallible, Mr. Reed argues, how could Smith be so sure of this divine revelation?

While Barnes and Paxton have the talking points and rebuttals they learned through their upbringing and catechism, this conversation with Mr. Reed is the first time they’ve had to seriously grapple with the veracity of their faith. The film, however, never mocks Barnes or Paxton for their vulnerability. In fact, Heretic highlights Mr. Reed’s own hypocrisy. He berates the sisters for having blind faith, but ironically, he remains uncritically convinced of his own worldview. There has been a hardening of his heart that Mr. Reed has mistakenly taken as spiritual enlightenment.

Convinced that our true beliefs are only revealed in crisis — that the closer we are to death, the closer we are to religious clarity — Mr. Reed designs cruel trials to test Barnes and Paxton.

Ultimately, Heretic expresses a desire for a faith that is living and nuanced, caught somewhere between the immovable convictions of Mr. Reed and the idealism of the Mormon missionaries. The world, in all of its cruelties, is not short on giving the faithful reason to doubt. From environmental degradation to ongoing genocide to the embrace of facism, it is difficult to see the state of the world and not ask, “Where are you God? Why have you forsaken us?”

Near the end of the film, Sister Paxton, overwhelmed by the circumstances of her capture, prays not only for herself and Sister Barnes’ liberation but also for Mr. Reed. She tearfully confesses that she does not know if God hears her prayer but says that there’s a comfort in praying even when you’re unsure if anyone’s listening. This embrace of the unknown is a stark contrast to the callous certainty that Mr. Reed champions. The film reminds us that perhaps the true heretics are not those who doubt but rather those who are certain.