Two young Mormon missionaries, Sister Branes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) are tasked with going door-to-door to try to spread their faith, but with little success. When they knock at the house of Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), he seems genuinely interested and invites them in to meet his wife.
There is a truly creepy set up for Heretic and Mr Reed’s verbal sparring with the young women is wonderfully written by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who also shared directorial duties, and most of the dialogue is spoken by a brilliantly quietly menacing Grant. During this period, it has one of my favourite lines of the year, with Mr Reed exclaiming the single word “Voltaire”!
The latter part of the story sometimes moves into more standard horror fayre and, consequently, is not as effective. East, though, shines as her character comes more to the forefront and shows her inner strength and ingenuity.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10