There’s plenty of danger in horror movies, but the psychological horror of “Heretic” offers something new by showing a sociopath trying to talk his victims to death — and I don’t mean that in a bad way.

Two young women, missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are riding their bikes through a Colorado ski town and trying unsuccessfully to strike up a conversation about their faith with anyone who passes by. It turns out that Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) is the more senior of the pair, while Sister Paxton (Chloe East) is the newcomer. This order is never stated, but the script from co-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods makes it clear.

Paxton and Barnes have an address for a possible prospect, so when the rain begins to turn to snow, they lock their bikes and ring the doorbell. A man named Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant) answers and says he is interested in learning what the missionaries have to say about the Latter-day Saint faith. The missionaries hesitate, citing the rule that they cannot enter a man’s house unless a woman is also there. Mr. Reed assures them that his wife is inside making blueberry pie.

Once inside, the missionaries begin their well-rehearsed message, which members call “the first discussion,” but Mr. Reed appears to already know much more about the Latter-day Saint faith than he lets on. He even pulls out a large leather-bound volume of the Book of Mormon, the church’s primary scripture, with scores of Post-it notes poking out from the pages. Paxton and Barnes begin to think they have a good chance at baptism.

But there is something odd about Mr. Reed; a level of insincerity that the missionaries detected. So where’s the blueberry pie wife?

It doesn’t take long for Paxton and Barnes to realize they are in danger; From a horror movie perspective, they’re pretty sharp about it. Yet they don’t realize their problems until it’s too late. Mr. Reed draws them further into his labyrinthine home and gives them a lesson about Judaism, Christianity and Islam, saying that what he has learned is “the one true religion.”

Beck and Woods, who wrote the nearly wordless “A Quiet Place,” go in the opposite direction here, ratcheting up the tension mostly through dialogue. It’s a clever script, with Mr. Reed using references to Monopoly and Radiohead’s “Creep” to make comparative assessments of world religions. The script also gives Paxton and Barnes the courage and intelligence to challenge him – and East (“The Fabelmans”) and Thatcher (“The Yellow Jackets”) give these characters the gumption and courage they need if they want to escape with their lives.

But what gives “Heretic” its threat is Hugh Grant, who is enjoying the villain phase of his career. (See “Paddington 2” and “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” as recent examples.) As Mr. Reed, Grant brings out the chaotic magic of the “Notting Hill”/”Four Weddings and a Funeral” days and then twists our story. Expectations become something evil. This is a mesmerizing performance that takes “Heretic” to the heights of excruciating tension.

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‘Infidel’

★★★1/2

It opens in all cinemas on Friday, November 8. Rated R for some bloody violence. Running time: 110 minutes.