Directors: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
Starring: Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East
Running Time: 111 minutes
Synopsis: Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) are young Mormons door-knocking to spread the faith. Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) invites them into his isolated spooky home with a promise of meeting his wife and enjoying blueberry pie. The seemingly jovial and obviously knowledgeable Reed engages Paxton and Barnes in cerebral sparring about religion, but when neither Mrs. Reed nor the pie materialize, the two young ladies realize they may be in a lot of trouble.
What Works Well: The first half drips with psychological suspense building behind smiley discourse, propelled by Hugh Grant enjoying a career highlight as the slightly smarmy but whip-smart debater ready to turn the intellectual tables on hawkers of religious dogma. The old isolated home in the middle of nowhere with a storm raging outside is an effective setting, and both Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes (confident and street wise) and Chloe East as Sister Paxton (unsure and more fragile) excel on a journey that starts with converting others and ends with pure self preservation. The focus on defining the "one true religion" is handled with wicked aplomb.
What Does Not Work As Well: Although the ending is impressive, most of the third act meanders away from the sharp-edged exchange of uncomfortable ideas and towards less interesting horror tropes.
Key Quote:
Mr. Reed: I promise you, the last thing I wanted to do was find the one true religion - but unfortunately, I did.
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