Heretic is a provocative horror that has Hugh Grant as its greatest asset

It is no exaggeration to say that Heretic is one of the surprises of horror in 2024. Not so much because of its story, which loses strength as events unfold, but because it brings a Hugh Grant (Wonka), actor who established himself in romantic comedy, in a role shrouded in mystery and, at times, frightening, always seeming to be one step ahead of the protagonists and us, the spectators.

After the failure of 65 – Prehistoric Threatscience fiction action starring Adam Driver (Megalopolis), from 2023, the director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woodswhich attracted attention with The House of Terrora very low-budget feature film released in 2019, returns to its origins in a claustrophobic and, above all, provocative film.

In Hereticthe missionaries Sister Paxton (Chloe East, The Fabelmans) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher, Yellowjackets) go to a man’s house, the Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant, Wonka), to try to convert it. However, the situation, which begins with a friendly and pleasant welcome, soon becomes uncomfortable, proving to be much more dangerous than the young women could imagine.

Full of reflections on the religiosity of the Sisters, the clash of ideas presented by HereticIt maintains a tone of suspense that does the film a lot of good in the first half. The great asset of this is the performance of Hugh Grantwho defends his character with arguments and references to pop culture — the sequence in which he compares Monopoly, our Monopoly, with monotheistic religions is hilarious —, always in a provocative tone, taking advantage of the Sisters’ young age and background .

THE Mr. Reed of grant It’s like an experienced player, who sits at the table and has two pawns arranged on a board for his entertainment. They, the pawns, can make their choices — the so-called free will — but it is as if the manipulator reed already knew that, regardless of the path chosen, destiny would bring them the same misfortune.

It’s exactly that step forward from reed which makes the character so intimidating and deliciously thought-provoking, without the need for physical confrontation, just that of ideas, based on inquiring monologues, which make the Sisters question themselves and become trapped within their own beliefs.

However, if the questions raised by the character of grant directly to Paxton Sisters and Barnes keeps Hereticat a level of unpredictability in the first two acts, the film soon turns into a game of cat and mouse, losing its strength when abandoning this more assertive approach and falling precisely into the positivism of faith.

In the last act, it seems that there is an exhaustion of ideas on the part of Beck and Woods. The great settings of the house Mr. Reedso well explored and worked on until then, no longer seems to be of interest to the duo of directors and, from then on, Hereticfalls into a common place within the genre, transforming an intriguing and threatening villain into a less frightening presence when seeking a confrontation that, until then, had caused much more tension while in the field of suggestion.

In short, HereticIt’s the kind of story that leaves a feeling that it could have been more, especially when it was betting on less. In the end, the film stops being provocative and becomes more direct, moving away from the disturbing suspense and making us laugh nervously as it turns into a more obvious horror, which does not last long. At least it’s worth enjoying Hugh Grant in an unconventional performance for his career.

Rolling Stone Brazil film special

Cinema is the theme of the new printed special from Rolling Stone Brazil. In a magazine dedicated to lovers of the seventh art, we interviewed Francis Ford Coppolawho turns 85 amid the release of his new film, Megalopolisa bold and million-dollar undertaking financed by himself.

Unshakable in the face of controversial reactions to the novelty, which took around 40 years to get off the ground, the filmmaker defends the cinema industry’s boldness in being creative and opens up, in plain Portuguese, about Brazil’s influence in his new film: “Alegria” .

The special also features conversations with Walter Salles, Fernanda Torres and Selton Mello on I’m Still Herea chat about soundtracks with maestro João Carlos Martins, an exclusive list with the 100 best films in history (50 national, 50 international), another list with the 101 greatest soundtracks in the history of cinema, a warm-up for the Oscars 2025 and the launch radar for Globoplay, Globo Filmes, O2 Play and O2 Filmes for the coming months.

The movie special Rolling Stone Brazil It is now available on newsstands, but can also be purchased at the Perfil publisher’s store for R$29.90. Check it out:

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What has been the best film of 2024 so far? Vote for your favorite!

• The Snow Society
• Anatomy of a Fall
• Poor Creatures
• The Boy and the Crane
• Dune: Part 2
• All of Us Strangers
• Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire
• Civil War
• Inside Out 2
• Bandit: Number One
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• The Substance
• The Girl of the Time
• Smile 2
• The Room Next Door
• Venom: The Last Round
• Megalopolis
• All the Time We Have
• I’m Still Here
• Gladiator II