Heretic

Hugh Grant has a field day in his first A24 horror movie, playing a mysterious homeowner named Mr. Reed, who traps two female Morman missionaries in his house and then schools them on the nature of their religious beliefs, doctrines, and dogma. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East play the frightened Mormons, who still seem much more up to the challenge than anyone caught in this web probably would. Grant sinks his teeth into the monologues by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the writers of A Quiet Place, who also direct. These speeches are entry-level comparative religion deconstructions, but Grant's distinctly sinister yet joyful delivery makes them feel fresh. In this way, Mr. Reed comes off like a diabolical Stephen Fry at a university debate (or maybe more like a kindly Richard Dawkins giving a university lecture).

A major thrust of Mr. Reed's thesis is that all religions are unoriginal iterations of prior belief systems, and he uses several amusing examples from other cultural media to make that case. This film itself could be one of his examples, as it possesses a host of similarities to other low-budget horror movies, like Split and Barbarian, to name just the first two off the top of my head. Heretic is no Barbarian, but it's a damn sight better than Split! The picture runs out of gas well before the ending, but this is an enjoyable enough entry in the endless parade of quicky cerebral horror movies that seem to be the only surefire way to make money in the film biz these days.