Heretic

~ MaryG

We haven’t been to the movies in quite some time, but decided to venture out to see Heretic starring Hugh Grant last night. That’s right, we went to see a horror movie on the big screen. That’s unusual and out of character for us as we are officially old now. My husband, at 62, qualifies for the senior discount at movie theaters and everyone knows horror movies are for the young (who love to be frightened en masse).

But Hugh Grant is one of “ours.” At 64, he’s a young boomer (like my husband) and I feel like I’ve known him all of my adult life. From his very earliest period piece Maurice in 1987 (a tale of gay love in repressed Edwardian England), through all the rom coms (Love Actually, Notting Hill…), scandals, arrests and love affairs (why couldn’t he just work things out with Liz Hurley?), I followed it all.

In Heretic, he’s smart and evil, but still somewhat charming (that upperclass Brit accent, those twinkling eyes, the modest smile). The two young actresses who play Mormon missionaries entrapped by Grant are fantastic. There are many long monologues and dialogues about world religions that make you think. At one point, the young women are forced to make a choice between two doors—one labeled Belief and the other Disbelief—to try to escape Grant’s metal-reinforced house of horrors. But the scary parts aren’t all that scary. I didn’t scream once. It’s more of a thought-provoking thriller.

Bottom line: it’s worth seeing Grant in this role if you’ve “known” him your entire adult life like I have. Technically, he’s a Baby Boomer, but culturally, he’s GenX. Apparently this group now has a name and it’s Generation Jones.

Hugh Grant with Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in Heretic
Hot couple Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley back in the day

25 thoughts on “Heretic”

    1. Interesting. I don’t watch much horror, but I guess you’re right about the ending. There’s always a ray of light. Favorite scene was when he compared all those religions to versions of monopoly. The Bob Ross edition made me lol 😂

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      2. I see…hmmm…I will be thinking about this! We saw trailers for so many other horror movies before the film. This is typically not my genre, but maybe I’ll see another one sometime soon and compare. Let me/us know if you can recommend any of the new ones.

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      4. Yup. AMC theatres put in the official trailer we saw last night – NO SINGING at Wicked!! I have my tickets for a different smaller chain, so maybe don’t see it at an AMC

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      5. Will have to look into that now! I’ll see it in the theater regardless, but putting a ban on singing is a sure way to cause people to push back on it and make for a weird vibe.

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      1. I can see how he felt pigeon holed in rom coms roles. I did see him in something in the last few years where he was the antagonist and thought he did a pretty good job. Maybe he’ll move more in this direction in this season of his career

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  7. Nice review and you’re absolutely right; Hugh Grant is adorable to behold eh. Certainly a top quality actor/artist.

    Curious, what did you make of Sister Paxton’s passage through the series of rooms that contained esoteric books, paintings and even candle light? How did this scene add value to the overall story? For me it was creepy as hell.

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