When you think about Hugh Grant’s career, the horror genre isn’t exactly what comes to mind. That is precisely why his latest role, in the new and unsettling Heretic, is so thrilling to see.

The film’s directors and writers, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), tapped the English actor to play Mr. Reed, a disarmingly charming conversationalist eager to hear more about Mormonism from two young missionaries, Sisters Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Paxton (Chloe East). Inviting them into his home sets off a game of cat-and-mouse and places questions of faith and religion at the centre of this refreshingly original nightmare.

Heretic premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where That Shelf’s Rachel West sat down with the dynamic creative duo to talk everything from Grant’s against-type portrayal and religion, to the horror films that inspire them.

Read our Heretic review here, and watch the interview below.

Heretic opens in theatres on November 8.