At first, you may be wondering why British rom-com legend Hugh Grant is in the new horror movie Heretic. Considering that he is best known for being a charming gentleman in the likes of Four Weddings and a Funeral, taking on a sinister villainous role seems rather unexpected for the star.
However, it turns out that Grant is a huge fan of the modern horror scene, especially films produced by indie darling studio A24. Not only that, it seems that the star is a firm believer in the more "fucked-up", the better. Even more so, he states that these movies are exactly what cinema needs right now, being responsible for bringing audiences back to theaters.
Speaking to 12DOVE, Grant is full of praise for these A24 productions, saying: "I am so thirsty for new stuff, stuff that's interesting and mold-breaking. I'm such an admirer of the way some of these new horror films, particularly the ones financed by A24, have brought real, fresh filmmaking back. Incredible originality, weirdness, and fucked-up-ness."
He continues: "It's such a great antidote to the way cinema has been going for the last ten years - more and more formulaic, gigantic. These are bringing people back, people are actually interested in stories about human beings and originality."
That's partly what drew Grant to Heretic, a film he is very proud to be a part of. In the movie he pushes himself like never before, taking on the role of dangerous stranger Mr. Reed, a man two Mormon missionaries are attempting to convert.
Much like the character of Mr. Reed himself, the movie isn't probably what you expecting, with the first half essentially being a theological debate, as the characters discuss topics surrounding religion.
Not only are the ideas being discussed rather bold, but the fact that the first hour of this horror movie is so dialogue heavy, is certainly a gamble from the filmmakers.
It's that style of risk-taking that appealed to Grant, as he states: "It's quite brave the whole conception of the film, quite new, it breaks a lot of the normal laws of filmmaking, especially with dialogue. Most films say let's keep the dialogue short and sweet, pithy, but this one isn’t at all like that [laughs]. It's quite interesting tonally the whole film - is it a thriller? Is it a horror? Then there's comedy in it too. I quite like that mishmash."
Heretic releases in UK cinemas on November 1, before opening in US theaters on November 8.
For more, check out the other upcoming horror movies that are soon heading your way.
