Before Chloe East read the script for “Heretic” — a horror film about a pair of Mormon missionaries — she was intrigued by the premise, but also “bummed out” by the log line.
“I just thought it was going to be this hate fest towards Mormonism — which ended up not being the case,” says the 23-year-old actress. “I went through the script and was like, oh, this is actually not about Mormonism. This is just a really good setup for this terrible circumstance and character dynamics.”
While the film doesn’t take a definitive stance on religion, it prods the topic of faith through a dialogue-heavy plot and high stakes for the two young missionaries. The majority of the film is set inside the home of a stranger, played by Hugh Grant, who welcomes the arrival of the two eagerly devoted women. After entertaining their religion pitch, he reveals his own more sinister agenda.
Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in a still from “Heretic.”
Courtesy of A24
East’s missionary costar is Sophie Thatcher, who has personal ties to the Mormon church, as did writer-director duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. “I know these characters, I know [my character] Sister Paxton so well — you don’t even need to tell me. That is in my bones; I have so much to pull from,” says East of the story’s resonance. “I really wanted to respect my missionary friends and [reflect] a true representation of Mormon missionaries.”
Shooting such an intimate film meant that its success hinged on the relationship between the story’s three central characters. While East and Thatcher met during the casting process, they didn’t encounter Grant until they were onsite in Vancouver.
“With Hugh, especially him being a Brit — and the most British Brit I’ve ever met in my life — I just felt this feeling of like, I can’t relate to this guy at all. What am I even going to talk to him about? He seemed like such a foreign figure in my head, which I knew was just in my head,” says East of her pre-set jitters. She ended up breaking the ice with a compliment: “I was like, ‘I loved you in ‘The Gentleman,’” she says of meeting the actor for the first time on-set.
“After that first encounter with him, I’m like, this is going to be great. There’s no superiority; he’s here because he wants to make a good movie. And it also was comforting that he was feeling the same things me and Sophie were feeling of: how are we going to do this?”
Chloe East on the set of “Heretic” with directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.
Courtesy of Kimberley French
The film premiered during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, where critics praised Grant’s unexpected casting and the film’s overall approach to the religious horror subgenre.
“I like to sit through all the screenings that I can,” says East of being in the theater for the premiere — and several additional screenings during the festival. Nodding to the difference between a festival premiere-goer, someone who’s watching a midweek festival screening and then the people seeing the film at their neighborhood theater, East was enthusiastic to witness the various reactions between different crowds.
“I would notice that people are laughing at different things than people did at the premiere,” says East, calling out the humor in the film. “I always think it’s funny when Hugh [his character in the film] meows, when he pulls out Monopoly.”
A24 has leaned into distinct, social media-primed moments of the film — a blueberry candle plays a sizable plot point near the beginning — and advanced screenings at Alamo Drafthouse locations on Oct. 30 touted a one-night-only immersive blueberry-scented experience within the theater. The next test will be how the film performs with the average theater-goer — will the film’s brand of horror (and humor) resonate?
Chloe East in Mugler for the 2024 AFI Fest premiere of “Heretic.”
Getty Images
Beyond “Heretic,” 2024 has been a busy year for East, who has several projects in various genres in post-production. East will next appear in the Netflix ensemble drama “No Good Deed,” out in December. Earlier in the year, she filmed the Kogonada-directed movie “Big Bold Beautiful Journey” with Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, which is set to be released in 2025. She also recently finished shooting “At the Sea,” with Amy Adams.
“Everyone says everything happens for a reason and everything’s meant to be, but this is kind of the year of really feeling that,” says East. “Everything I’ve been working towards, and on, has led up to this moment.”
East grew up dancing in the L.A. area, and originally wanted to be a ballerina. She started auditioning for dance projects, booking commercials and a Skrillex music video that never ended up being released before pivoting her focus to acting on her agent’s suggestion.
“And then I did my first show, ‘True Blood,’” says East of her first major acting booking, when she was 11. East went on to star in the HBO series “Generation” and Steven Spielberg’s film “The Fabelmans.” “I got on set and I was like, you know what? This craft service is so nice. I have my own trailer. They treat me so nice. Like, I want to do more of this,” she adds. “And so that’s kind of what got me on the acting train — honestly, the craft service and the seaweed snacks.”
Chloe East in Monique Lhuillier at the 2023 Academy Awards.
(Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images )
