In a time when communication is increasingly less personal, you may be longing for a nice sit-down with a new friend to chat about the big questions of life, learning and growing together. But a movie like “Heretic” shows us that being face to face with a stranger ain’t always that simple.

On a dark and stormy night, missionaries Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton (Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East) are out and about spreading the good word to anyone who will listen, a task that brings them to an isolated country home.

The proprietor, Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), is more than eager to talk to them — a little too eager, perhaps. The young women, who are used to being dismissed, find his friendliness charming at first but are soon uncomfortable with some of his statements as they delve into a debate about religion and the nature of faith.

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The longer they stay, the less certain they are about their safety with their host for the evening as Mr. Reed continues to say shocking things that are accompanied by even more disturbing actions.

Whether you first became familiar with Grant as the boyish rom-com hero of the 90s and early 2000s or the pompous middle-aged villain who works his nefariousness in everything from “Paddington 2” to “The Undoing” to “Dungeons & Dragons,” the spirit of both those phases of his career is on display here.

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Grant is a master of playing the loquacious type, one who’s capable of always engaging someone in conversation — regardless of whether or not they want to be so engaged. Armed with an intriguing spiel and endearing smile, he is subtly terrifying as an unassuming older man who works his brand of mental warfare without any indication he’s doing so.

As for the girls who get drawn into his home — willingly at first but with increasing reluctance — Thatcher and East play off each other capably as a pair who have largely similar takes on religion, albeit different paths throughout their lives.

Thatcher is the more sardonic of the duo, as well as the more openly suspicious of Mr. Reed, while East’s bubbly nature is quickly tamped down as she and her partner realize just what they’ve gotten themselves into by stepping through the front door.

What’s especially nerve-wracking is watching the two of them be on their guard from the start only to slowly rationalize, “Hey, it’s not like we’re in a horror movie, right?”

While our story starts in a rather barebones, sad-looking living room, the further the two visitors venture into this seemingly unassuming house, the more they realize something is amiss. Such is the same for the audience, who may know they’re in for something awful but don’t quite know the full scope of it.

One minute we’re having a contentious yet reasonable chat about the tenets of faith, the next we’re in a makeshift chapel comparing the major religious Abrahamic institutions to the dearth of “Monopoly” spinoffs.

If you’re getting vibes of Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” in the first act, you’ll be feeling something wholly different by the finale as the tone of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods shifts from irreverent potshots at church history to something far more sinister.

The writer-director team — who co-penned “A Quiet Place” but are clearly darker whenever they’re behind the camera — give us a slow burn that’s highly satisfying in how it unveils the greater details of this scenario while never letting us once feel at ease with what’s lurking unseen.

Much like the recent “Barbarian,” we also see how disparate of an experience the world is for male and female protagonists. Topher Grace makes a chameleon appearance as the ladies’ church superior, who is far less observant of all the dangers around him — especially the chatty man at the center of it all — whereas the women sense right away that something is awry but are dragged into it nonetheless.

In a year where films like “Immaculate” and “Conclave” have taken big swings, “Heretic” is less daring in terms of religious commentary but just as much so as far as looking at the interplay of men and women within that realm. If one of those elements speaks to you, great, but if both do, you’re going to leave the theater mesmerized.

And one final word to the wise: eat a blueberry pie well before watching because you won’t want one ever again.

Seriously. Ever.