Summary
While not a lot is known about A24’s upcoming horror movieHeretic, this is a big part of its appeal.Hereticis an upcoming religious horror movie from A24.A24’s horror movieshave earned a reputation over the last decade, with the studio releasing some of the most offbeat and acclaimed entries into the genre in recent years. Likeall of A24’s movies, the studio’s horror output covers a diverse range of themes, tones, and topics. Some of A24’s horror movies are slashers likeX, while others are intense period pieces likeThe Witch.
Although A24 releases an array of horror movies, the studio’s output tends to be critically acclaimed. This trend is unlikely to end with 2024’s upcomingHeretic, a promising religious horror movie that stars Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher as a pair of Mormon missionaries. These two sheltered young women become trapped in a nightmarish maze when a seemingly sweet older man invites them into his home to share their faith. Soon, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary man and his home is some kind of booby-trapped lair, judging byHeretic’s cryptic trailer.
Heretic Trailer: A Twisted Hugh Grant Forces Two Women To Confront Their Faith In A Deadly Game
The new trailer for A24’s Heretic sees Hugh Grant trap two pious Christian missionaries in his house, forcing them through a deadly game.
Heretic’s Trailer Doesn’t Give Away The Entire Story
The Promotional Materials For A24’s Horror Maintain The Mystery
Fortunately for viewers who are looking forward to the A24 horror, the above synopsis is all that anyone knows aboutHeretic’s story. Unlike so many of 2024’s big horror releases,Hereticresolutely refuses to give away its entire story in the movie’s trailer. The movie’s trailer does reveal that Hugh Grant’s charismatic loner is secretly a villain, something that could potentially have been hidden untilHeretic’s release. However,A24’s upcoming religious horror movieis remarkably reserved in its promotional materials, with viewers only getting a few brief glimpses of the labyrinthine setting.
It’s not clear whetherHeretic’s entire storyline takes place in this house or if this ordeal will only account for a portion of the movie’s runtime. 2022’sBarbarianinfamously hid its biggest twists entirely, resulting in both stellar reviews and a superb box office performance upon the movie’s release.Hereticlooks set to repeat this approach, offering viewers only a bare-bones premise and leaving the rest a mystery. This approach makes perfect sense for a horror movie, as the genre typically relies on catching viewers unawares. Despite this, some of the genre’s biggest recent releases have taken a different approach.
2024’s Horror Trailers Have Been Filled With Major Spoilers
Abigail, Speak No Evil, Alien: Romulus, And Immaculate Spoiled Their Stories
Heretic’s marketing is particularly refreshing aftermany of 2024’s biggest horror movies spoiled major twists in their trailers.Scream VI’s directorial duo Radio Silence reunited with star Melissa Barrera forAbigail, but the trailers for this horror comedy almost immediately revealed that the titular little girl was secretly a vampire. WhileHeretic’s horror story sounds exciting, the movie’s trailer didn’t give away any details this substantial. That said,Abigailis one of the year’s more minor offenders in this regard. The Sydney Sweeney vehicleImmaculatewas a slow-burn religious horror, but its entire story was spoiled by its trailer.
The Speak No Evil remake’s trailers revealed its entire storyline, including scenes that weren’t in the original movie.
Meanwhile, the long-awaitedAlienrebootAlien: Romulusdepicted one character getting attacked by a face-hugger as far back as its first teaser trailer. The next trailer featured an extended scene where the same character fell victim to a chest-burster, effectively advertising their death months before the movie arrived.Alien: Romulus’s final trailer was the last nail in the coffin as it confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that this character was doomed. Even this was better than thetrailer for 2024’sSpeak No Evilremake, which revealed its entire storyline including scenes that weren’t in the original movie.
The promotional materials forLonglegswere even more cryptic thanHeretic’s trailers, revealing almost no story details at all.
Heretic Outdid 2024’s Biggest Viral Horror Movie Marketing
Heretic’s Promos Revealed More Than Longlegs’ Trailers
WhileHeretic’s decision to cast Hugh Grant as the horror movie’s villain was inspired, this isn’t the first 2024 horror from a famously hip studio to star a ‘90s icon as its unlikely villain. The sleeper hitLonglegs, which features Nicolas Cage as the titular serial killer, is one of the year’s biggest horror successes among viewers and reviewers alike. LikeHeretic,Longlegsrelied on an ingenious and deeply ambiguous marketing campaign to build up hype around its release. The promotional materials forLonglegswere even more cryptic thanHeretic’s trailers, revealing almost no story details at all.
In contrast,Heretic’s trailers hinged on revealing the movie’s ingeniously simple premise. This is a good thing since the marketing forLonglegs, which was undeniably great, didn’t have a particularly unique, original plot to fall back on. AsHeretic’s central premise is so strong, it makes sense for the horror movie to focus on this over broader atmospheric horror. As such,Heretic’s marketing could make the A24 horror movie the genre’s next big sleeper hit.
