A taut religious thriller like Heretic is always going to be make-or-break based on its cast, and filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (writers of A Quiet Place) put together a trio of actors who really could deliver on their unique premise, which mostly takes place in a single location over the course of one night.
Hugh Grant is already fairly well known from decades of great movies from Notting Hill and About a Boy and Love Actually to odder recent decisions like playing an Oompa Loompa in Paul King’s 2023 prequel, Wonka. In Heretic, he plays “Mr. Reed,” a loner living in a dark house who greets two young female missionaries into his home to discuss their Mormon religion. Those two missionaries are played by Sophie Thatcher – star of Yellowjackets and The Book of Boba Fett, who also stars in next year’s Companion – and Chloe East, who appeared in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, and who played “Reese Cabrera” on Kevin (Probably) Saves the World. Oddly, both actors had a Mormon background, though neither of them are practicing.
Heretic is a three-hander, that is at times, thought-provoking and at others, quite frightening, and it certainly will be a conversation-starter whether you’re deeply religious, agnostic, or somewhere in between.
Cinema Daily US spoke to the two young actresses in a video interview you can see above where we spoke about whether each of them knew which of the two character they wanted to play going into the auditions, and how well they knew Hugh Grant being that neither of them were alive in the ‘90s. Neither of them understood why I would ask about them possibly seeing Heretic with their families.
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Screenwriters/Directors: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods
Cast: Hugh Grant, Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher, Topher Grace
Producer: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Julia Glausi, Jeanette Volturno
Production Co: Beck Woods, Shiny Penny
Distributor: A24
Rating: R (Some bloody violence)
Genre: Thriller
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): November 8, 2024
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: