Hugh Grant is taking on his first horror-movie role since the late 1980s in A24’s new psychological horror movie Heretic, which just had its first trailer released on Tuesday.
From A Quiet Place writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Grant plays the sinister Mr. Reed, an older gentleman who at first seems harmless when he answers the door for a pair of young Mormon missionary women (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) spreading the word about Jesus Christ.
“We can’t come inside unless another woman is present,” Thatcher’s character says in the trailer.
“My wife is home, does that count?” Grant’s character replies. “Do you like pie? My wife has pie in the oven.”
After chatting about religion for a while — “I think it is good to be religious. To find your faith in a doctrine you actually believe,” Grant’s Mr. Reed says — he goes to check on that pie. While he’s gone, things take a turn for the worst when the women notice a blueberry pie scented candle on the coffee table, triggering the realization that Mr. Reed has been lying to them.
But by that point, it’s too late — they’re already trapped in his labyrinth. Cue the desperate attempts to escape as they realize the front door is, of course, locked.
“We just need to go home,” one of the women says.
“I won’t keep you if you wish to leave. But I want you to choose which door to go through based on your faith,” replies Mr. Reed, writing the words “Belief” and “Disbelief” on two different doors.
“What does this have to do with us leaving?” one woman asks.
“Everything,” says Mr. Reed.
The two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith as they find themselves trapped in Mr. Reed’s deadly game of cat and mouse.
“I think that we’re being studied,” one woman says.
“It will make your hearts beat faster. It may even make you want to die,” Mr. Reed says. “Do not be afraid. You will witness a miracle.”
As the trailer comes to a close, it’s revealed that the women are trapped in a life-sized wooden maze, like one you might see a scientist building for rats to run experiments on them.
An official release date hasn’t yet been revealed for Heretic, but according to the trailer, it’s coming to theaters this fall.
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Hugh Grant Last Did a Horror Film in 1988’s The Lair of the White Worm
This is the first time Grant has done a horror film since 1988’s The Lair of the White Worm written and directed by Ken Russell. Based on the 1911 Bram Stoker novel, Grant played Lord James D’Ampton, whose ancestor is said to have slain a mythical worm creature years before. The plot follows a young archaeology student who is excavating a cave when he unearths the creature’s skull, awakening an ancient priestess.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Grant mainly played lighthearted and humorous roles in beloved rom-coms like Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Brigit Jones’ Diary, and Two Weeks Notice. But recently, he’s been taking on more villainous roles, like Paddington 2, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and The Gentlemen.
He’s also recently been seen playing an Oompa-Loompa in Wonka opposite Timothée Chalamet and the man behind Tony the Tiger in Netflix’s Unfrosted.
Sophie Thatcher is known for Yellowjackets, 2023’s The Boogeyman, and 2024’s upcoming A24 movie MaxXxine from Ti West’s X trilogy.
Chloe East has been in Steven Spielberg’s 2022 film The Fablemans, Disney’s Liv and Maddie series, True Blood, 2020’s The Wolf of Snow Hollow, 2021’s Generation, and 2024’s Popular Theory.
You can watch the full trailer for Heretic above.
Main Image: Hugh Grant in Heretic, A24
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