Hereditary

Year: 2018
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro


Plot: After a family matriarch dies, her family experiences a series of strange and dark happenings that become more and more sinister as time goes by.


Review: Hereditary is yet another entry into the list of new age horror films that have been released in the last few years such as The Witch, The Babadook, Get Out and It Comes At Night. I'd say that Hereditary reminds me a lot of The Witch, in its execution, disturbing imagery and how the movie ends.

A family of four; Annie, a miniature artist, her husband Steve, son Peter and daughter Charlie, is a rather fractured family, even before Annie's mother Ellen recently dies. Annie's relationship with Peter is shaky and combustible, and when another death occurs, the family is even further broken. But strange and sinister events start to happen, and the family is slowly reaching a breaking point, and Annie starts to lose her mind. Or is she?

I really can't say much here, lest I give away too many plot points. Needless to say, this is one of those horror flicks that slowly gets under your skin and crawls its way into your darkest nightmares. Those of you who are expecting jump scares and loud sounds, this film is not for you. It's a disturbing piece of horror, with a pretty good payoff at the end. Director/writer Ari Aster, in his feature film debut, does well in creating a sense of dread while keeping the audience invested in the goings on. The pace is methodically slow but it somehow works in this case.

The cast perform incredibly well here. Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne and newcomer Milly Shapiro all throw in superb performances, especially Collette and Wolff as Annie and Peter respectively. Collette puts in a tour de force performance looking terrified and distraught while Wolff is great as he slowly loses his shit. Byrne is subtle as the husband trying to make sense of things and Shapiro excels in looking tragic and strange at the same time.

The film's only flaw is the rather uneventful first half, but once the second half kicks in, your patience will be well rewarded. When there are no strange things happening, the family interactions are the film's strong point, with a dinner scene standing out.

All in all, Hereditary is a solid horror drama. I will be honest: it's not for everyone. But if you're curious and you want something different from the traditional horror fare, give this a shot. (8/10)