'Heretic'

Movie studio A24 gets a lot of credit for injecting new life into the horror genre. Talk to Me, Midsommar, The Witch, Hereditary — whoever’s making the decisions over there seems to have their finger firmly on the pulse of what notoriously passionate (and opinionated) fans of the genre are looking for.Most recently, their loving gaze has fallen on Heretic and the familiar face of Hugh Grant playing a role that would’ve been deeply unfamiliar earlier in his career: unhinged psychopath.Grant brings his unique mix of charm and smarm and menace to the new movie, which shares that complexity by throwing philosophical ingredients into its mix of horror and psychological thriller. In other words, it does what A24 movies have been doing for the last decade or so. But does it connect with everyone?Our focus group of two shares their surprisingly divergent thoughts on this episode of Cinebuds.