“Hertic” partial poster featuring Hugh Grant.
Heretic—a horror thriller starring Hugh Grant in an atypical villain role—is earning high praise from critics.
Heretic plays in previews Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
The official summary for Heretic reads, “Two young missionaries (Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.”
Rotten Tomatoes critics through Thursday have collectively given Heretic a stellar 94% “fresh” rating based on 121 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus for the A24 film reads, “Hugh Grant has infectious fun playing against type in Heretica religious horror that preaches the gospel of cerebral chills over cheap shocks.”
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Heretic’?
Among the top Rotten Tomatoes critics who are praising Heretic is James Dyer. In his review for Empire Magazine. Dyer refers to the lead actor’s romantic comedy past, writing “An incredibly tense, tightly contained bottle horror, showcasing a genuinely chilling turn from Hugh Grant. You’ll never watch Notting Hill the same way again.”
Olly Richards of Time Out also praises Heretic in his “fresh” review on RTwriting, “It’s a tremendously enjoyable type of horror, full of giggle-inducing jump scares, but sending you off with some intelligent questions to gnaw on.”
In addition, Heretic impressed Variety critic Peter Debruge, who writes, “Go with it, and Heretic can be an entertaining ride. It may not change your mind about religion, but you’ll never think of blueberry pie the same way again.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye has some issues with Hereticbut still gives the film a “fresh” rating, writing, “Even when the screenplay heads into deflating territory — trading potential acerbity for more neutral conclusions — their cat-and-mouse game keeps us curious and faithful.”
Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson also has issues with Hereticbut also gives Heretic a “fresh” review, writing, “An alternately clever and silly horror-thriller that wants to have a kicky, pointed dialogue about faith vs. reason, free will vs. preordination. It maybe doesn’t arrive anywhere profound, but it has a good time laying out its thesis.”
Among Heretic’s detractors on RT is Screen International critic Tim Grierson, who notes in his “rotten” review, “The problem is that the film’s ideas are not particularly stimulating … Grant is skillful in his delivery, but his commentary is hardly novel and his larger observations about society don’t seem nearly as profound as the writer-directors believe.”
Nick Howells of the London Evening Standard was equally unimpressed with Heretic, writing, “Grant, to be fair, isn’t bad, but a film as unscary and frankly as tedious as this should never get a whiff of one of those golden statuettes.”
Rated R, Heretic—which is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods—plays in previews Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
