Warning: the following features spoilers for the Heretic ending… you have been warned!
In new horror movie Heretic, British star Hugh Grant takes on his most sinister role yet playing the mysterious Mr. Reed, a man two young Mormon missionaries visit in an attempt to convert him to their religion.
Throughout the film Grant tests the faiths of Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), firstly through intense theological debate before events take a violent turn. As we hurtle towards the final act, Mr. Reed stabs Sister Barnes leaving her for dead on the floor of a grimy dungeon-like room, meaning Sister Paxton now has to face the dangerous stranger alone.
During that final confrontation, Mr. Reed reveals what he believes the “one true religion” to be which is ultimately “control”, showing Sister Paxton the various women he has locked up in cages. As the young missionary attempts to run away, she attacks Mr. Reed by stabbing him and runs back into the dungeon-like room, trying to figure out an escape route.
However, Grant’s Mr. Reed soon catches up with her and at the very point he is about to kill Sister Paxton, he is hit over the head with a plank of wood filled with nails, a weapon we saw be put aside earlier on in the movie. It turns out that Sister Barnes wasn’t dead yet, using the last of her strength to save her fellow missionary Sister Paxton before finally passing away. You could perhaps call it, a miracle.
Now using his last breaths, a struggling Mr. Reed crawls over to Sister Paxton, asking her to pray, realizing he’s about to die at any second. And sure enough, he passes away in her arms.
It’s a thrilling ending but, as Grant reveals to GamesRadar+ in a recent interview, it could have been different. That’s because they filmed two versions of this final moment, each featuring a different performance from the actor. The one that made the final cut is a terrified Mr. Reed begging for a prayer, but he also shot one where his character is still trying to make it a game, as he had been doing for the rest of the night.
As Grant explains: “I filmed it two ways. There’s a moment where I crawl across the floor to her, having been stabbed, which I did in two ways. One where he’s still trying to make the whole thing fun, as he’s been trying to make the whole evening fun. He’s kind of going, ‘Look at this, this is fun, dying’. And then I did another one where all his defenses have gone and he’s absolutely shitting himself that he’s going to die, and he’s very frightened. He wants some comfort and he wants her to comfort him, perhaps with a prayer.”
Continuing, Grant reveals that he wasn’t sure himself which version director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods ultimately used, adding that due to the film “running long” there was a lot of playing around with the ending. He says though that his favorite take of the two was the one that we do see in the final film.
As Grant concludes: “I am not entirely clear the way they edited it, which of those two performances they’re going for. I think it’s the latter. But I know they telescoped the last 20 minutes quite a lot, the film was running long, so maybe it’s not quite clear. I quite like the second way – finally after a whole hour and a half of this guy totally being in control, he’s a frightened rabbit.”
Heretic is out now in UK cinemas, before opening in US theaters on November 8. For more from our interview with Grant, read his thoughts on how A24 horror is the perfect antidote for the current state of cinema and what scenes from the film he’s most proud of.
Also check out the other upcoming horror movies that are soon heading your way.