STACK #244 February 2025

FEATURE MOVIE

HUGH GRANT’S DARK SIDE GENRE: Horror thriller RUN TIME: 1h 50m

Hugh Grant, SophieThatcher, and Chloe East

FUN FACT

No more Mr. Nice Guy!The King of Rom Com has entered his villain era.

Many are calling Heretic Hugh Grant’s first horror

movie, but he previously starred in Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm (1988), based on a novel by Bram Stoker.

A udiences love Hugh Grant for his smooth dry wit and boyish charm. It’s the reason he's cast so often as the “lovable rogue” in countless rom coms. But when he gets to be bad... he’s very, very bad! In recalibrating his likeability, he's able to create something quite sinister, which he does with great aplomb as Heretic ’s charming, compelling, and ultimately diabolical Mr. Reed. Mixing elements of horror and psychological thriller, the film casually unfolds into a deadly cat and-mouse game after two Mormon missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) ring Mr Reed’s doorbell. Over a period of one night, Mr Reed will force them to prove their faith. It’s a harrowing descent into a subject many think about, but few openly

discuss - religion, and how faith can guide and sustain, but also entrap and derail when dogma and scripture is

synthesis of horror and psychological thriller,” says the British leading man. “Early on, I thought I

• Heretic is out Feb 26

wielded by nefarious means. “Hugh has quietly become

glimpsed an enjoyable way to play the part of Mr. Reed. I saw him as the ‘groovy professor’ at his university - the one who was a bit shocking, and ‘made theology fun’ “I found Heretic to be daring, not just because it questions a lot of things that many people hold sacred, but for the fact that it’s set in one house over the course of one long night and features a lot of talking - hardly normal practice for a horror film.” Glenn Cochrane

one the greatest character actors working today,” says co-director Scott Beck. “And like any great character actor, he steals every movie he's in. We saw Cloud Atlas in theatres and, after the movie ended, we sat stunned in silence, because the film was so beautiful in its ambition and bravery, and on such a massive scale.” Recommended for the role by his agent, Grant immersed himself in preparation. “I thought it was a fascinating and daring

VILLAINOUS HUGH GRANT MOVIES

A Very English Scandal, Paddington 2, The Gentlemen, Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre, Dungeons & Dragons

Strong themes and violence

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OWN IT ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD FEBRUARY 26

*while stocks last