With Heretic dropping in theaters soon, many are curious to know if it’s based on a true story or book. Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the thriller movie centers around two Mormon missionaries stranded in the evil Mr. Reed’s house. They get embroiled in his cat-and-mouse game and have to turn to their faith to escape from his home alive. So, is this premise of the Hugh Grant-led movie inspired by real events?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Is Heretic based on a true story and real events?
Heretic is neither based on a true story nor any book. However, its character Mr. Reed does take inspiration from Nathan Fielder from The Rehearsal and real people from Grant’s life. Directors Beck and Woods recently sat down with Inverse, sharing details on Grant’s Mr. Reed’s character.
They revealed that the character takes inspiration from Nathan Fielder from The Rehearsal. “We joked that he’s kind of like Nathan Fielder with decision trees and trying to predict: If she says this thing and walks over here, here’s what I do,” Woods said.
On the other hand, Grant, in an interaction with Entertainment Weekly, said he believed that his character took inspiration from people he met in his life. He spoke about having people who have been “useful” to him.
He described them as “very clever – brilliant, really, and in some ways very plausible and quite charming and quite bewitching, but who you gradually realize that there’s something deeply wrong with them.” He further elaborated on how these people usually struggled with relationships and friendships. Due to this, they relied on “pranks and slightly unfunny jokes and model-making.”
Heretic originally premiered on September 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will soon be dropping in US theaters on November 8.