'Heretic' is in wide release. A new horror from the trendy studio A24, in which Hugh Grant has read too many books and invented his own religion, dangerous to those around him.

Two young Mormon girls — Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East) — go door-to-door in a small town trying to find followers. Toward evening, slightly tired, they stop at the final point of their route — a house on the outskirts of town, where they meet the well-read and courteous Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant). A storm begins outside, and the smiling Briton kindly offers the missionaries to wait out the bad weather in his living room.

The girls initially refuse, but upon learning that Mr. Reed's wife is home and baking a blueberry pie, they agree. Mr. Reed, who at first seemed very hospitable, gradually reveals his true intentions, and the girls realize they ended up in his house not by chance. However, escaping is no longer possible. There is no way out: Mr. Reed has locked all the doors and offers the sisters a game to test their faith.

The new film from the studio was directed by already fairly well-known but not yet top-tier young directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. After releasing a couple of unpretentious slashers, these two suddenly got lucky. They got their hands on the initially promising project '65', starring none other than Adam Driver himself. The directors put all their skills and effort into the project, but the film flopped at the box office and was not accepted by the public. For Beck and Woods, this failure could have been a one-way ticket (if not for the script for 'A Quiet Place'), but another miracle happened.

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The flagship of all arthouse and bizarre horrors, studio A24, became interested in their script for 'Heretic', offered a helping hand, and even allowed the directors to choose the actor for the main villain role. And then Hugh Grant appeared on the scene, having recently overloaded his career with negative characters. And it must be said that Beck and Woods hit the mark. Grant, who can turn his angelic smile into a sinister grin, in 'Heretic' is exactly the companion with whom you will definitely not be bored throughout the entire film.

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Grant's nuanced, substantive, and plastic performance, which clearly brings the actor undisguised pleasure, fits well into the three-person play in the first act of the film. And it's not just Grant who catches the buzz — he is organically opposed by the initially timid but eventually firm-voiced Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, forming a quite gripping ensemble along with skillfully escalating tension. The authors themselves clearly feel in their element here, not striving for brevity but literally dumping onto the screen theories about the origin of religion born in mutual disputes, not shy of comparisons with Monopoly and other slow-moving games. Particularly amusing are the comparisons of quotes from Voltaire with quotes from Spider-Man in mutual jabs, boldly marking the generational gap.

But as soon as the action passes the midpoint and it's time to descend into the dark basement (read: into the underworld), all the aforementioned vibe evaporates somewhere. In genre straightforwardness and physical effects, the authors of 'Heretic' seem to be less adept than in pop culture crises. And here they clearly become bored. As if sensing this change in mood, Hugh Grant literally shrinks, trying to transform into John Kramer while striving not to lose the face of Hannibal Lecter. But he does it frankly poorly, so the camera repeatedly places his confused face in the darkness, and the main burden falls on Thatcher and East. They, by the way, handle this quite skillfully.

Nevertheless, 'Heretic' is watched literally in one sitting. It's hard to tear yourself away from the screen. There's not much to be scared of; the authors were more interested in showing off the bright packaging of a trendy board game than in introducing the viewer to its contents. And, perhaps, to remind once again that knowledge is certainly power. But reading smart books should sometimes be diluted with walks in the fresh air. It will be safer for everyone.