Two young religious women are drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse in the house of a strange man.

‘Heretic’ is the latest horror movie from directing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, starring Hugh Grant as a reclusive man who entraps two young, female missionaries who arrive at his home to attempt to convert him to their religion. For a man who made his name playing charming, bumbling romantic leading men back in the 1990s, his heel turn to villainous roles at this stage of his career has been most welcome, and he is brilliant again here. The well established charm is still there, but it’s matched with a sinister edge and some superb line delivery “you have to go DOON, if you want to go OOT”, and he is the star of the show in this religious horror.

‘Heretic’ begins by introducing us to Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), who are in a small town to carry out missionary work for the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Their work takes them to the home of Mr. Reed (Grant), a man who has previously expressed interest in learning more about the church – we’ll learn that he does, but not in the way the two women initially suspect. Once in his home, they discover all is not as it seems and they have been locked inside, where Mr. Reed intends to interrogate their belief system in what develops into a thrilling cat and mouse game.

Like many religious horrors, it does become increasingly silly as the runtime progresses and I thought the final act was quite ridiculous, but the set up and the initial discussions between the characters are really, really strong. I enjoyed the dissection of religion and what it means to believe, what drives that belief, and what happens when it’s challenged, and ‘Heretic’ is stronger for making Mr. Reed a character who makes compelling arguments despite his undoubtedly sinister methods. At this stage, watching how the two Sisters react is a thrill and the movie does a good job of keeping you guessing, but as I say, it started to lose me as we progressed towards the movie’s conclusion.

‘Heretic’ has a terrific Hugh Grant performance at its heart and an intriguing premise that is delivered upon well for much of the runtime, but it does falter at the end and descends into a more generic horror than the clever thrills that were introduced at the outset.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, Topher Grace and Elle Young

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt28015403/