Heretic ending spoilers follow
Hugh Grant's horror movie Heretic filmed two versions of its ending, each featuring a different performance from the British star.
Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the movie follows two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (The Fabelmans' Chloe East), who visit a man, Mr. Reed (Grant), hoping to convert him to their religion.
However, things get dangerous when Mr. Reed reveals his obsession with finding the "one true religion," and traps the two young women in his house to test their faith.
Related: The best and most anticipated movies of 2024
In the ending of Heretic, Sister Paxton stabs Mr. Reed in the neck after exposing his fake miracle and discovering what's behind his "one true religion" — an obsession with control.
What to Read Next
Looking for a way out, Paxton goes back to the dungeon where Sister Barnes was killed earlier. She doesn't realise she is being followed by a bleeding Mr. Reed, who stabs her in the stomach.
When he is about to finish the job, Sister Barnes (who wasn't dead) uses the last of her strength to hit his head with a plank of wood with nails. In his last moments, Mr. Reed crawls over to Sister Paxton and asks her to pray. He dies in her arms.
Hugh Grant revealed to GamesRadar+ that the ending of his character could have been slightly different.
Related: The best new horror movies of 2024
Beck and Woods filmed two versions of this final moment, each featuring a different performance from the actor.
"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," Grant revealed.
"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."
We know the version that made the final cut is the one where Mr. Reed begs for a prayer, but Grant revealed he wasn't sure which one had been included.
"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.
You Might Like...
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
