It’s no controversial take that A24 is the most exciting “mini-major” distributor in Hollywood right now, and while it’s inspiring to see it play with higher and higher budgets (Alex Garland’s Civil War is currently the studio’s most expensive film at $50 million; a number that its Christmas 2025 sports drama Marty Supreme will beat by $20 million), it’s those storied A24 indie horror chops that excite like no other. 622o44

The current A24 horror all-star is Heretic, having dropped into theaters this past November before going on to rank as the 10th-highest grossing film in the studio’s whole library. The 91% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is but another cherry on top, second only to the fact that it earned each and every bit of the acclaim thrown its way. Nowadays, it has fallen into the good graces of Max viewers.

Per FlixPatrol, Heretic has ascended to the top of the Max film charts in the United States at the time of writing, beating out its revolutionary animated competitor Flow (second place, although it’s probably too busy iring its Oscar statue to care about this downgrade) and slop benchmark Morbius (seventh place).

Heretic stars Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East as a pair of Mormon missionaries who find themselves on the doorstep of one Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), who purports to be interested in the faith and invites the girls in to talk religion. The discussion appears honest enough at first, but when chilling revelations turn into aggressive probing about faith, it becomes clear a little too late that the missionaries made a mistake by visiting this house.

Between Heretic, Blink, The Boogeyman, MaXXXine, and the horror-adjacent Companion, Sophie Thatcher has come to establish herself as a member of the 2020s-era scream queen designates alongside Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Kathryn Newton. As Heretic‘s Sister Barnes, it’s easy to see why.

But it’s Hugh Grant’s presence as the insidious Mr. Reed that fascinates the most here; a statement backed up by his Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, and BAFTA Award nominations for the performance. Grant, of Bridget Jones fame, enters this psychological horror territory by playing upon similar notes that defined his everpresence in the romantic comedy genre. In other words, Mr. Reed reads as the same haughty, slightly-to-entirely deplorable charmer that Grant’s face so often telegraphs.

It’s that exact familiarity, however, that makes the character’s evil impulses all the more unnerving. We reflexively want to find that rom-com-coded comfort in the actor, and that tempts us towards getting behind his cynically academic monologues on religion, all in spite of how obvious it is that Mr. Reed is bad news (this, importantly, is also downplayed until the other shoe is forced to drop, so to speak). We desperately want to trust him, and so it stings more when he crosses the lines that he does.

A24’s next pair of horror releases, Opus and Death of a Unicorn, will play more in the horror-comedy sphere than the straighter chills of Heretic. Early reviews haven’t been painting Opus in a particularly flattering light (it currently sits at a 39% approval rating after 33 reviews), while the jury cautiously remains out on Death of a Unicorn.

After that, however, will come more straight horror in Bring Her Back, the sophomore feature from the revelatory Philippou brothers of Talk To Me fame. So, even if Opus and Death of a Unicorn wind up falling short, we can at least look ahead to the work of some tried-and-true mavericks of the scare craft.

There is one question that is a shadow over the human experience. What is the meaning of life?

This is a concept theologians have been debating for centuries. A24’s new horror film Heretic doesn’t exactly answer that question, but it does pose many relevant and thought-provoking ideas that follow the viewer long after the credits have rolled.

Hugh Grant terrifies in the role of the unsettling Mr. Reed, the last stop of the day for Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) as they spread the word for the Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This concept could have easily maligned the LDS church as works such as The Book of Mormon have done in the past. Instead, Heretic pulls an amazing hat trick. The film weaves a genuinely terrifying psychological tale while humanizing the religion at the center of it. Barnes and Paxton are young girls in the church, trying to find converts. However, as they sit on a bench in the beginning scenes, the discussion of their faith offers a different perspective that those outside the church may not consider.

This complex perspective on religion is followed throughout the film as they visit Mr. Reed, who has requested information about the faith. Though they are not supposed to enter a home without a woman present, Mr. Reed promises his wife is inside. The ensuing storm and promise of following the rules leads the Sisters into a trap.

Once inside, Mr. Reed ensnares them into a conversation, purposefully testing their devotion. The following film raises the complexities of religion in a truly fascinating way that also increases fear from the viewer. Heretic hinges on the performance of Grant, who many may be startled to see step out of his romantic comedy origins. Grant still employs the humor that he is known for, but here it makes the dark moments of the film all the more insidious.

As commanding as Grant in the role is, he meets his match in the performers who portray Barnes and Paxton. While the Sisters are ittedly at a disadvantage at first, they refuse to be beaten by the older gentleman. Thatcher in particular demonstrates her depth as a performer, bringing humanity to the religious community. Similarly, East plays the younger Paxton, who seems meek at the beginning of the film but becomes a force to be reckoned with as the hours race by.

These three actors are instrumental in pulling off the true terror at the center of Heretic. Horror films full of jump scares and predictable thrills are often in the zeitgeist. Heretic does the harder thing, and masterfully so. The film is terrifying because of the dread that drags the protagonists through Mr. Reed’s house. Nothing is threatening to jump out from the shadows. The terror is derived from Grant’s foreboding presence and the fear of what religion can bear. The climax of Heretic isn’t about escaping some literal monster but becomes a battle of wits between the patriarch of the house and the Sisters. The tension builds and builds until the final moments of the film.

But while the dialogue is razor-sharp and the performances beyond reproach, the culmination of the film falters slightly. Heretic hovers around the question if there is one true god or not. Mr. Reed offers one perspective and the girls offer another. But it isn’t totally clear what the film itself is trying to imply. Without getting into spoiler territory, the ambiguous nature of the end could be interpreted that there is no right or wrong answer. People believe what they will. But if this was the thesis, the ending confuses this message.

If Heretic has accomplished one thing, however, it is raising many questions that are impossible to not mull over. Mr. Reed has gotten to us all, demanding that we question our own beliefs. And there is no point to art if it doesn’t raise questions.

At one time, Hugh Grant was the go-to actor for your typical English rom-com. Since then, however, he has come to an even better era.

Recent roles have cast the prolific actor as an Oompa Loompa, a power-hungry rogue, and now, the disturbing Mr. Reed in the A24 film, Heretic. Grant seems to have no issues with this new phase in his career, even being drawn to Mr. Reed for his base nature. The Dungeons & Dragons actor explained to USA Today that he envisioned the character as a professor at some lower-tier university, attracting the attention of female students.

“I saw him maybe having some seminars in his own rooms and some of the girls came to those and really thought he was something of a messiah. And then I always thought one of them died and it was unclear exactly what had happened. The university authorities were concerned. They didn’t fire Mr. Reed. They just asked him to move on. I knew these sort of teachers.”

This backstory to the character arguably makes him even more insidious. But it is just the sort of people Grant has been drawn to in recent years. He has been up front that his acting career plateaued when he was no longer cast as a romantic lead any longer. The day of David, the bashful Prime Minister in Love Actually had faded. Even so, Grant was grateful to find a different sect he didn’t have as much experience in. He credits the Wachowskis for casting him in Cloud Atlas. This opened the door for many new and exciting opportunities.

“My whole romantic comedy career collapsed spectacularly in 2010, and then really there was nothing. Then, in little tiny droplets, people started saying, ‘Oh, come and do a little bit in this, and a little bit in that.’ Very often those were the places where I was able to bring my enthusiasm for freaks, weirdos (and) damaged, evil people to the screen.”

A Very English Scandal was Grant’s foray into this type of content in 2018. Written by Russell T. Davies, the series depicts the true story of the leader of the English Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe, who gets embroiled in an assassination plot in the 1970’s. The seeds of this were planted years before when Thorpe has an affair with a young stable boy, Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw). Eventually, Thorpe becomes tired of his lover and dismisses him. When Scott starts threatening to expose the affair, Thorpe hires someone to kill him. The series was critically acclaimed and led to the follow-up, A Very British Scandal. Grant’s part in the series led to a second act in his career with many complex characters.

Grant plays the creepy Mr. Reed in Heretic 3a3k36

Heretic is the newest A24 horror film to delight and offend anyone who watches it. Told from the perspective of two Mormons, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), Heretic shows what can happen when a religious sect tries to convert the wrong person. They knock on Mr. Reed’s door who gladly invites them in to have a discussion about their beliefs. What happens in the next two hours is pure psychological horror. Grant has delved into this new genre with glee. Though he is practiced with other villains like Dungeons & Dragons’ Forge, his new character lacks the levity of the comic character. Be prepared to experience the worst when Heretic premieres in theaters on Nov. 8.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and we can almost smell it — the intoxicating aromas filling our homes with the scent of a perfectly stuffed, juicy turkey roasting in the oven, soft and savory mashed potatoes, and, of course, the deliciously sweet fragrance of cranberry sauce.

If reading that made you particularly excited about the Thanksgiving feast, get ready because I might just be about to ruin it for you — especially if blueberry pie is a staple in your household. As it turns out, you might experience the smell of blueberry pie without having to bake it yourself, simply by heading to the theater to watch Hugh Grant‘s new and terrifying film, Heretic.

Set for release on November 8, Heretic has a simple yet chilling premise. It tells the story of two young female missionaries who, against all odds, knock on the door of the “diabolical” Mr. Reed (played by Grant) and find themselves trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse, according to the IMDb description. Now, you may be wondering: Where on earth do blueberry pie and trauma come into play? Well, allow us to explain.

As it turns out, Heretic includes a chilling scene in which Mr. Reed assures the young missionaries that his wife is in the kitchen baking a blueberry pie, allowing them to enter his home — since, for religious reasons, they couldn’t enter a man’s house without a woman present. However, once inside, the young women notice that there’s only a blueberry pie-scented candle in the room, with no wife or actual pie in sight.

For this particular scene, A24 — the company responsible for bringing this thriller to life — partnered with Joya Studio to create multi-sensory screenings, exclusively at Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide, for a limited time. On October 30, advance screenings of Heretic will be held at Alamo Drafthouse theaters, and sure enough, during the blueberry pie candle scene, audiences will begin to smell blueberry pie.

Regarding the logistics, Joya Studio uses a cutting-edge yet simple technique to fill the theater with the aroma. The studio uses atomization technology, which entails the use of cold-air diffusion to disperse scented molecules as fine, dry air without the use of heat, water, or alcohol to activate. If you’re impressed, we have to let you know that this isn’t the first time Joya Studio has teamed up with A24 either.

In 2022, the studio collaborated with A24 to create candles (scentless, we assume) based on the butt plug trophy from Everything Everywhere All at Once. These sensory experiences are not only incredibly alluring but they’re also highly effective marketing tools — the best of both worlds. If this interests you and you’re hoping to get tickets for the advance screenings, you still can by visiting the Alamo Drafthouse website, with prices ranging from around $14.50 to $31.40.

While speaking to Variety, directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods shared that the blueberry candle is a “a metaphor for blind faith and a disturbing reminder to question everything,” and that the very idea of a blueberry pie aroma made them cackle with laughter. “When we first heard A24’s bold idea to resurrect the multi-sensory experience to underline this crucial sequence it made us howl with laughter.”

If you were hoping to be fully traumatized by Mr. Reed and his fake blueberry pie but don’t have an Alamo Drafthouse theater nearby, don’t be too disappointed. You can still enjoy an immersive experience elsewhere. Specifically, if your local theater hosts advanced screenings, you may also have access to exclusive treats and scratch-and-sniff cards available for viewers. Fun!

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Ah, Hugh Grant; you know him, you love him, and you’re probably used to seeing him fill the shoes of any number of idiosyncratic goobers. His roles range from an Oompa Loompa, to Benoit Blanc’s husband, to one of the foulest scoundrels that Neverwinter has ever seen, to a deceitful, sexist, disgusting specimen of humanity, if one Bridget Jones is to be believed.

At this point, when we see Hugh Grant getting involved with something, then Hugh Grant is what we’re going to get. However, unless Grant has been hiding an evil twin this whole time, his next cinematic turn will unveil a much darker edge to the actor’s bag of tricks, and it looks absolutely delectable.

Employing Grant as only A24 could, Heretic stars the actor as the antagonistic Mr. Reed, who quickly becomes the archnemesis of Sister Paxton and Sister Barnes (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher, respectively), two Mormon missionaries who seek to convert Mr. Reed. But by the time they clock the diabolical nature behind his initial gentlemanly demeanor, they’re already far too deep in the proverbial lion’s den, and will have to brave a myriad of faith-testing mazes and puzzles if they ever hope to see a latter day.

Heretic comes courtesy of writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, best known for penning and executive-producing A Quiet Place and The Boogeyman. The duo’s last directorial effort as writer-producers was 65, so hopefully they have a bit more luck here; the fact that A24 was interested is certainly a good sign.

Heretic creeps into theaters on Nov. 15.