Hereditary - movie review
Hereditary
Plot: After the family matriarch passes away, a grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences, and begin to unravel dark secrets.
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro
Director: Ari Aster
Certificate: 15 (strong threat, gory images, language, drug misuse)
Runtime: 2hrs 7 mins
Release Date: Friday 15th June 2018
Three years ago, if you would have asked me my opinion on the current state of the horror genre, I would have probably broken out into a cold sweat, flush red with anger and complain at how, aside from the odd exception, the horror genre was dead and buried due to a need to impress mainstream audiences with generic and cheap scares. If you ask me for my opinions now, they would have drastically changed. The tables have been flipped. Original horror has never been better with studios like Blumhouse and A24 releasing some of the most creative and brilliant horror movies to grace the big screen (It Follows, Get Out, The Witch) and even larger studios learning too (It). A24 takes another turn to bat, this time with Hereditary, a film compared to The Exorcist in its marketing. Does it live up to the hype? Put it this way, I have never, in all of my life, seen a film like Hereditary. This film tore open my skin, crawled inside and festered within me.
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| He was willing to do anything to miss that pop quiz. |
There came a point during Hereditary where I turned to my friend and explained to him that I felt like I was going to vomit. There was no gore. There was no violence. I was just unbearably uncomfortable. Hereditary isn't a movie with a scare or fright around every corner. It's a disturbing, uncomfortable and distressing slow burn that challenges its audience and left me shocked, confused, troubled but undeniably transfixed. However, I'm willing to bet that most audiences are going to dislike Hereditary with a passion. Working in a cinema, we've had a number of customers leave the film complaining it was one of the worst films they've ever seen and some leaving the showing halfway through asking for a refund. It's an incredibly divisive film and that was apparent in my screening as I did hear a number of chuckles at some of Aster's attempt at scaring us. Hereditary, above all else, is unconventional. It refuses to play by the rules and that will leave many unhappy. Personally, I adore this decision by Aster. I think it's fair to understand that Hereditary isn't quite what the marketing has lead you all to believe. Every single trailer and TV spot has pushed this as the scariest horror you'll see in years but what they failed to mention is that, in the 127 minute runtime, two-thirds of that is a deeply harrowing and personal family drama as they deal with grief, loss and trauma. Each member goes through a struggle that, whilst not conventionally scary, poses some terrifying repercussions for each individual. As the film enters the third act, it then becomes much more of a horror but still maintains the intimate and personal storytelling it set down earlier on. The story of Hereditary has been shrouded in secrecy and mystery and rightly so because the less you know, the more of an impact it'll have. All I will say is that a grandmother passes away and the film subsequently follows the fallout of her death focusing on her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Aster, launching out of the gates with his directorial debut, isn't afraid to ask some thought-provoking questions such as whether we inherit our demons from our parents or if we can change for the better. Full of unexpected twists that will leave the entire audience gasping and reeling with discomfort, Hereditary is best experienced with an open mind. If you're a fan of recent and daring horror movies such as The Witch and The Babadook, then Hereditary is worth every second. If those sort of films didn't float your boat, then maybe Hereditary isn't for you.
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| No more scissors for you!! |
FACT: According to Alex Wolff, the original cut of the film could have easily pushed over 3 hours. Mostly consisting of more family dialogue.
Even though it's June, I'm already campaigning for Toni Collette to be nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Hereditary. Aster doesn't make it easy for Collette by giving her a character that is damaged and broken and puts her through some of the most impossible experiences that any human being would struggle to face. Collette must have been exhausted after every day on set as she goes from one hysterical breakdown to another in the blink of an eye with each one becoming more and more painful to watch. At one point, I just wanted to reach into the film and give her a lozenge to help her surely aching throat. Annie (Collette) is a fascinatingly written character with tremendous depth. As she reveals throughout the film, her relationship with her mother was a turbulent one not to mention that she seems to express her inner feelings through the use of model making as she recreates very personal events of her life. Annie also has a fractured bond with both of her children, Peter (Wolff) and Charlie (Shapiro) as they too, are suffering devastating losses. Alex Wolff, who began his career in Nickelodeon TV shows, has really come into his own as an actor to watch. Earlier this year, he appeared in a movie based on the younger years of Jeffrey Dahmer (My Friend Dahmer) and now, with Hereditary under his belt, Wolff seems to be taking the indie world by storm. Here, Wolff gives a haunting depiction on what a young man faces when his family is falling apart around him. Aster could have decided to make Peter a hard-nosed, stereotypical male that you see in millions of generic horror films. Instead, Aster and Wolff treat Peter like the terrified teenager he is as he breaks down into floods of tears when situations get too tense for him and, in one heart-breaking scene, cries out for his "mummy". Milly Shapiro is also a brilliant revelation as she perfectly balances the curiosity of a young girl and an uncomfortable sense of dread and fear. One unique trait of hers will have you paranoid for days.
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| The Sims in real life. |
However, the one performance that isn't receiving enough credit is that of Gabriel Byrne's. Byrne portrays the father of Peter and Charlie and is tasked with doing what he can to stop the family fracturing any further. Byrne's resilience and calmness speaks volumes especially soon after Annie has her explosive outbursts. Of all of the family members, my heart went out for his struggle the most. As for Aster as a director, this is someone who is infatuated with the horror genre. His shot design takes clear inspiration from that of Kubrick (almost convincing me that this house was somehow situated within The Overlook Hotel) as is the editing style. Aster's ability to film a scene and let it uncomfortably linger in the shadows allows the audience's imagination to run wild. I lost count of the amount of times that I questioned whether there was a figure lurking in the dark or my mind was playing tricks on me. One shot in particular froze me to my seat in complete terror and it was only when I discussed it with friends later that I found out there was nothing to be seen at all. Colin Stetson's score also adds greatly to the atmosphere with a constant sense of unpredictability that anything could be hiding around the corner. But what will leave most people talking is the ending to Hereditary. Similar to last year's WTF fest, mother!, Aster pitches a Hail Mary for his finale and if you've found yourself along for the ride up until that point, it's conclusion will likely leave you stunned in your seat as the credits roll. It's bizarre, peculiar and seriously shocking but upon leaving the cinema and the following days after seeing it, those final moments refused to leave my memory. My only complaint is that the two hour runtime is a tad extensive and despite never being bored, the film would have felt a lot tighter and smoother if it could have been shortened.
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| When you find out that Incredibles 2 isn't being released in the UK for another month. |
Unconventional doesn't even begin to describe Hereditary. With only one jumpscare to be found (and it earns the jump), Hereditary opts for the more subtle approach with horror and imagery that will disturb and unsettle rather than scare and terrify. The main four actors give career best performances and Aster is certainly a director I'm going to be keeping my eye on. Balancing family drama and supernatural horror, Hereditary is a movie that won't be leaving my brain for some time.
My Verdict: 8/10
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