Heretic (2024)

Heretic (2024) Great fun! What a Hugh Grant! One of my cousins said he was one of those actors who only had one expression, or sometimes two. But this cousin must not have known much about films. Hugh always had the merit of making me laugh at least once in every film. And here, on the contrary, he manages to switch from one expression to another very naturally and very quickly. Having said that, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a role like this. He’s excellent! In fact, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Actor in 2025.

Sophie Thatcher is also a singer with a hyper-sensual voice. You can hear her singing a cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at the end, during the credits. She is also an amateur music producer. She came to prominence in the early 2020s mainly through her participation in the series Yellowjackets and The Book of Boba Fett. She was born at the same time as a twin sister. Crazy fact: She was actually raised Mormon by her parents, but with her growing interest in the arts, Thatcher turned her back on the church. She’s also excellent in this film.

Chloe East is very complementary to Sophie here. She had started modelling at the age of nine, then took drama lessons at the age of eleven and was also active as a dancer. She landed her first role in the series True Blood. Sophie & Chloe are both very convincing in their roles as inexperienced sisters.

As for Topher Grace, he was one of the actors rumoured to have disappeared. Why was that? Because of Spider-Man 3 (2007)??? And yet he was brilliant as Venom. I also remember his performances in Predators (2010) and The Calling (2014). We don’t see much of him, he doesn’t have a crucial role, although we’d like to think so (or maybe it’s one of the flaws in the script)!

The directing duo, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, have already made a trio of films, namely: Nightlight (2015), Halloween Haunt (2019) and 65 (2023).

What’s crazy is that I’m someone who repeats myself and says all too often that, in these kinds of recent films, the first half-hour is often gripping and perfect. It makes you think you’re finally dealing with a masterpiece. But here, I was gripped for a whole hour by the intensity, the information and the unease of the situation. And yet, when you read the summary, you’re desperately waiting for the crucial moment. But, for my part, when that moment arrived, I started to feel disappointed. I would have preferred everything to be as it was at the beginning. But there are plenty of red herrings! Particularly with a character who serves no purpose, even though we think he’s going to change everything. After that, I’m not convinced by the ending… although the more I think about it, the more I realise that it’s also mind-bogglingly subtle. No, really!

I admit it’s a very good film and I was delighted to see such quality, such Hugh Grant, such actresses and a return of Topher. The direction is impeccable. There’s just a gap, a big void between the extraordinary beginning and the final blow. And that’s it!

My Rating