Hugh Grant Stars in A24's Horror Film 'Heretic'

After a streak of hit films, A24 is back to amuse the audience with a new horror flick featuring Hugh Grant in a malicious role. The first trailer for A24’s psychological horror film, “Heretic,” has been launched, providing a glimpse of what can be expected from the upcoming film. Penned and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the film also features Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as two Christian missionaries who are invited into the house of Mr. Reed (Grant) after knocking on his door. But they soon realize that the sinister homeowner isn’t about to let them leave.

The writer-director duo Beck and Woods have a glorified history of working together. The pair broke through with their script for John Krasinski’s 2018 horror film “A Quiet Place.” Later, the two teamed again to co-write and direct the 2019 crime horror film “Haunt” and the Adam Driver dinosaur survival film “65.” The pair also co-wrote the screenplay for the Stephen King adaptation “The Boogeyman,” which starred Thatcher.

Their collaboration to date has proven promising entertainment to the audience. Now, with “Heretic,” something good can be expected. And that good can be sensed from its trailer itself, which is enough to creep out the viewers with its eeriness at every moment.

What can be expected from Heretic?

“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,” Grant tells his pair of guests in the trailer as he leads them to two closed doors, writing “BELIEF” and “DISBELIEF” on two doorways. Later, Grant has a message of warning for the women. “It will make your heart beat faster,” he teases. “It may even make you want to die.”

Nothing gory follows in the footage. But a miniature labyrinth seems to have reached life-sized dimensions as one missionary gets lost in a wooden maze at the end of the trailer.

The trailer itself is promising enough, igniting anticipation in the audience to know more. Grant has recently made a habit of playing villains, with roles in films like “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” “The Gentlemen,” and “Paddington 2.” However, he hasn’t led a horror film since his late 20s, when he starred in Ken Russell’s 1988 pagan thriller “The Lair of the White Worm.” So it would be exciting to see him in an eerie role after so long.

Production on “Heretic” took place last fall in Vancouver during the SAG-AFTRA strike under a guild-approved interim agreement.

Elle McKinnon, River Codack, Carolyn Adair, Stephanie Lavigne, and Elle Young round up the rest of the cast of the film. Along with Beck and Woods, producers include Katie Aquino, Scott Beck, Liliane Bedford, Julia Glausi, Kai Raka, Stacey Sher, and Jeanette Volturno.