E's Reviews: Hereditary

And I thought my family was messed up...

Hereditary is an independent horror film by up and coming studio A24 (who have been killing it lately with some excellent films like The Witch, It Comes At Night, Lady Bird, A Ghost Story, etc.) and is directed and written by Ari Aster. The film stars Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and newcomer Milly Shapiro. The film centers around a family as they deal with tragedy and go to extreme lengths to gain closure, ending in horrific fashion.

To begin, I’d like to talk about the cinematography. The film was well shot, with some pretty damn terrifying angles and scenes. The home where the majority of the film takes place has this old, rustic feel to it. It’s also out in the middle of nowhere, which makes it feel claustrophobic. Every room has a sense of dread, never knowing what will pop out at you. That isn’t to say it’s perfect...I found at times that the lighting was a little too dark, making it hard to see what I was watching on the screen. This is a modern home, despite looking rustic and old, so why won’t anyone just flick on the lights? It’s possible they did this to use more natural lighting, to draw the viewer in, but some people would find this slightly annoying. The jump scares were few, but whenever they did throw them out there at the audience, they lingered (albeit not too long) and actually showed you something absolutely terrifying, something that was meant to get under your skin.

The screenplay by Ari Aster was great, which makes me want to see more by this director. His direction was great, and he could not have asked for a better cast, as Toni Collette as the grieving (and slightly insane) mother to this family just killed it. I’d love for her to win an Oscar for this performance, as she just ate up everything on the screen. Gabriel Byrne I felt was underused as the dad, he didn’t really have much character development, but he’s always been a very capable actor and it was nice seeing him in this film. Newcomer Milly Shapiro was downright unsettling to watch as their barely-into-her-teens daughter. Every time I saw her on screen, it just felt wrong watching her do the things she did. There’s also a scene involving her and Alex Wolff that I won’t spoil, but it actually made me gasp in the theater. Alex Wolff makes his return to cinema after the absolutely dreadful Netflix take on Death Note. Here he’s proven he can be a capable actor, taking on the role of their older son. I had some issues with his portrayal of a modern day teen, as he would just go from antisocial kid, to social kid, to daddy’s boy in seconds. It all makes more sense by the end of the film, so maybe that was what they were going for. Obviously, he’s way better here than he has been in the past, so congratulations to him for that.

If you’re going into this movie after seeing the trailers and thinking it’s going to be non-stop horror, you’ll be sadly disappointed. It’s a slow-burn horror film, filled with family drama and tragedy. The best way I can describe it, is that it’s this year’s version of 2016’s The Witch or 2017’s It Comes At Night (both films by A24 that I loved). The film itself is disturbing, it’s dark, it’ll get under your skin, and it will stick with you up until the closing credits. Sure, it starts slow, but that’s how good of a story this movie is. You get to see the evolution of the characters, dealing with one tragic event after another, surrounded by mystery, culminating in something so absolutely brutal, that it gets it’s claws into your soul and won’t let go. Is it perfect? No. Is it meant for the average movie-goer? No. But if you love good storytelling, if you love seeing fantastic performances, and if you like seeing something truly unsettling, then Hereditary is for you.

Final Score: 8.5/10