Interview: Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East and Hugh Grant on ‘Heretic’
Belief becomes a weapon in Heretic, the latest film from A Quiet Place screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. The film follows two Mormon missionaries who decide to knock on a stranger’s door – but what follows is a tense psychological duel that’s equal parts horror and debate. The film stars Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East, and Hugh Grant, whose performances drive the film’s riveting blend of sharp, thought-provoking dialogue and creeping dread.
For Thatcher, known for her role in acclaimed series Yellowjackets, stepping into the role of Sister Beckett meant drawing from her own experience with Mormonism. (Thatcher was raised in a Mormon household, but has since left the church.) “I definitely think it helped in the way that I probably had to do a little bit less research,” she says. “It was kind of like channeling something that I felt when I was younger—thinking about family members and thinking about people close to me.”
East, who plays her missionary partner, found the role came naturally – she also grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a fact that Beck and Woods did not initially know when they cast her. “I feel like, in another life, I was a sister missionary,” she said. “I wasn’t, but in a way, I kind of was through this movie. I really knew this character—probably more than I’ve ever felt with any other role. I wanted to show the true depiction of sister missionaries without the stereotypes.”
The film’s tension is anchored by Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed, a character who weaponizes theological arguments with chilling ease. A vast departure from the more comedic roles he’s known for, Mr. Reed is probably Grant’s most textured character; charismatic, calculating, and steeped in an unsettling confidence that makes him as captivating as he is terrifying. Grant was drawn to the role’s complexity, he says, and he also learned a lot about organized religion while he was working on the film. “The guys who wrote this, Bryan and Scott, told me that when they first started writing the script, they realized they couldn’t write Mr. Reed because they didn’t know enough theological stuff,” he explained. “So they did a vast amount of research and came up with some really fascinating arguments. I didn’t know about so many of the basics of Christianity being present in earlier religions. That was new to me—and fascinating.”
Filming Heretic created a close bond among the cast and crew, something East credits for shaping the movie’s dynamic. “”It was, for me, the foundation of [the film],” she explains. “Shooting on a sound stage and having the same routine throughout the whole shoot and also it just being us, that was really, really helpful and really nice. And you just never have that [on other sets]. We were all in the same boat. It wasn’t like one of us was gone for two weeks, and then came back and jumped in. We all were there every day. And in a way it feels like, I mean, I can’t take credit for a lot of it, but it feels like our movie. Us, Scott and Bryan and everyone who worked to make the movie happen. It felt like we were almost kind of involved in all of it and just seeing it happen… It didn’t feel as distant, it was really cool.”
Thatcher agreed, adding that the film’s mix of humor and unease makes it a must-see with an audience. “There’s a lot of humor in the movie, and when you’re dealing with such an uncomfortable subject, you need those releases,” she said. “To feel that with an audience—to feel that electricity—it brings more layers to the experience.”
Thatcher agreed, adding that the film’s mix of humor and unease makes it a must-see with an audience. “There’s a lot of humor in the movie, and when you’re dealing with such an uncomfortable subject, you need those releases,” she said. “To feel that with an audience—to feel that electricity—it brings more layers to the experience.” The energy couldn’t have been more electric at the film’s premiere, which took place at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was met with widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike. “It was especially nice premiering it at a festival like TIFF, where people actually like film,” Grant says. “People are invested. That’s the dream audience.”
With Heretic, Beck and Woods have managed to craft something both cerebral and unsettling, firmly anchored by a cast whose performances will linger long after the credits roll.
Heretic is now playing in theaters.
