Hugh Grant has made a career for himself as a romantic heartthrob. He’s left his mark with hits like Bridget Jones Diary, Two Weeks Notice, and Notting Hill to name a few. Unlike most actors, when you become known for specific genre, it’s hard to break out and be known for something else. But it seems like in the last couple years Grant has been messing around and trying new roles.
He played a villain in the Dungeons & Dragons movie, which was surprisingly good. He was also an Oompa Loompa in the latest Willy Wonka movie with Timothée Chalamet. And he even played an arms dealer in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre with Jason Statham. Basically Hugh Grant is channeling Frank Reynolds quote where he said, “Well, I don’t know how many years on this Earth I got left. I’m gonna get real weird with it.” And he’s doing that in A24’s Heretic.
In Heretic Grant plays a swimmingly harmless man who welcomes two women who are preaching the word of God into his home. The women are initially hesitant and say they can only enter the home if there is a woman present. He assures them that his wife is inside and they enter the home. After some discussing about religion, one of the women notices that this smell of pie isn’t real. Grant isn’t checking the pie. All of it is a ruse and it’s discovered thanks to a candle.
When the women try to escape, it’s revealed that the house is practically a fortress. Grant’s character has thought of every possibility and has a fortified front door and windows that are difficult to break or even fit through. And when confronted by Grant’s character he seemingly offers them a way out. Two doors, two options, and all grounded in their beliefs. Of course it doesn’t turn out well for them as they find themselves stuck in a maze like house and with a nauseating fear that maybe there’s something else inside the house they should fear.
Watch the trailer for Heretic below:
Heretic is expected to hit theaters on November 15, 2024.
