Hereditary is a rare film that we see in the horror genre these days and is such a breath of terrifying fresh air. There are very few words that will actually describe the fear and utter tenseness of this movie. The movie plays on the slow burn theme because of the fact that it does take a while for it to get going, but it pays off because of how much you do become so invested, and care about the characters. It is such a heavy and dark film that it sticks with you days after you see it, and I am still thinking about the movie to this day, and leaves images that are burned into your brain.
This is what a successful horror movie does. It leaves you with so many things to think about, and just leaves you with chills. The utter artistry in the film is brilliant. There is a scene were it goes from a close up angle to a wide angle and your eyes have to physically adjust to the change and as they do, an image of a person shows up in the corner, it truly is terrifying and sends chills up your spine. The film does not use cheap jump scares to get a rise out of the audience, rather it uses pure tension, fear, and family drama that does not let up at any point during the film, and led me to have my fists clenched during the whole 2 hour duration and was completely unsettled.
Toni Collette who plays the main character Annie gives one of the best performances i’ve seen in a horror movie; and in general honestly. She has to emote so much and she finds a perfect balance between likeability, realism, and insanity. The Character she plays has her breaking point so early in the film that she is just on edge for the rest of the movie and keeps the audience on edge for that reason. There is a certain scene at the dinner table when Annie just loses it and goes off on a irate and almost possessed rant, and it truly is a writing and acting masterpiece that makes you hold your breath.
The whole film is like a piece of art and has shots and scenes that are filmed with such beauty and care that you can really tell that the director has a passion for his craft. The miniatures that the main character Annie creates are tied into the visual aesthetic so well that sometimes you feel that you are actually in the miniatures. If you want to have cheap scares this isn’t the movie for you, but if you want to be unsettled and have so many things to think about than this is the movie for you. Hereditary is a truly unique film that we don’t see much of in the horror genre today and is up there in my opinion with The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Shining, and I think that anyone who loves the horror genre as I do will love and appreciate this movie, it truly is a terrifying masterpiece.
I give Hereditary an A
