Movie · 2024 · Thriller, Horror · 1h 51m · R · English
Curator score: 4.5/10 (1.5M ratings)
Question everything.
Overview
Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace, Elle Young, Julie Lynn-Mortensen, Haylie Hansen, Elle McKinnon, Hanna Huffman, Anesha Bailey, Miguel Castillo, Stephanie Lavigne, Wendy Gorling, River Codack, Carolyn Adair
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, talky cat-and-mouse horror-thriller that leans on performance, theology, and psychological pressure more than gore. It’s especially effective if you like chamber-piece suspense with a nasty streak and a sly sense of humor.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy dialogue-driven horror
Fans of psychological cat-and-mouse thrillers
Audiences interested in faith, doubt, and manipulation
People who like darkly comic villain monologues
Skip if
You want nonstop action or big set-piece horror
You dislike films built around extended speeches and debates
You prefer subtle menace over overtly theatrical antagonists
You are looking for a purely supernatural or slasher experience
Overview
Heretic turns a simple premise into a tense, increasingly unnerving duel of beliefs, wills, and survival. The movie is at its best when it treats conversation like a weapon, using theology, pop culture, and social awkwardness to keep the trap tightening around its characters.
Worth noting
Hugh Grant is the engine here, playing against expectation with a performance that is charming, smug, and deeply unsettling in equal measure. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East give the film a grounded emotional center, which helps the movie stay tense even when it gets more idea-heavy than visceral.
Bottom line
It’s not a broad crowd-pleaser, and some viewers will find the monologue-heavy structure repetitive. But if you like horror that feels like an argument slowly curdling into a nightmare, this is a smart, nasty little thriller with real personality.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Stacey (2.5★) · 41601 likes
Jigsaw if he was an insufferable reddit atheist
𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙩 (4★) · 33793 likes
no fucking way hugh grant just compared jesus to jar jar binks
Tom (2.5★) · 27591 likes
i shit you not hugh grant meows not even a second after singing radiohead
Katie Walsh · 21760 likes
It actually IS my greatest fear to be trapped by a man into listening to his monologues about culture and philosophy.
(My review)
GiGi (4★) · 20482 likes
date idea: you come over and I quiz you on board games, religion, and Radiohead.
2016 · Thriller, Science Fiction, Drama · 1h 44m · PG-13 · Curator 5.8/10 (1M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A claustrophobic survival thriller where uncertainty, persuasion, and control drive the suspense.