Hugh Grant's Unexpected Performance In 'Chilling' New Horror Hailed As 'One Of His Best'

Heretic has been called "wild", "brilliant" and the "best horror film" of the year following its premiere.
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Hugh Grant as Mr Reed in Heretic
A24

Hugh Grant’s unexpected foray into horror has been one of our most hyped films of 2024 ever since we first saw the trailer for Heretic back in June.

The movie finally received its premiere  at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday night (which just happened to be the eve of Hugh’s birthday), and ever since, critics and cinephiles lucky enough to snag tickets have been sharing their thoughts on social media.

Over on X, Heretic itself has come under near-unanimous praise, but it’s Hugh – who plays the sinister Mr Reed in the A24 horror – who has been singled out for the most glowing reviews.

In fact, even those who had wider criticism for Heretic as a film couldn’t fault the Bafta winner’s performance in Heretic.

Here’s a selection of the early reviews for Heretic on X:

Heretic stars Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher as two Mormon women who enter a man’s home as part of a missionary visit to try and convert him.

While Hugh’s character initially seems charming enough, it’s not long before things take a dark turn as we discover more about Mr Reed’s motives for inviting the missionaries in, and he winds up putting them through their paces with a series of intense challenges and puzzles.

Chloe previously appeared in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans and the teen drama Genera+ion, while, Sophie has appeared in Yellowjackets, the Star Wars spin-off The Book Of Boba Fett and another 2024 horror from movie studio A24, MaXXXine.

It was directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the duo who previously co-wrote A Quiet Place and The Boogeyman.

Watch the chilling trailer for Heretic for yourself below: