Hereditary (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Hereditary' (written & directed by newcomer Ari Aster) is one of those dark, creepy, UNSETTLING horror flicks that contain apparitions, gruesome deaths, blazing infernos, seances, high-pitched tension, moments of rage, maggots, ants, and any other horror film trope you can think of. It's also a slowww burner. A certain type of horror film fan will EAT THIS UP -- it's a quality film {of course, for as far as you can accept supernatural occurrences}. Having said that, a certain other type of horror fan who looks for the lowest common denominator in terror & bloodlust ... will HATE this. Artist Annie Graham (Toni Collette) & her family -- loving husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), 17 yr. old son Peter (Alex Wolff), & 13 yr. old {troubled} daughter 'Charlie' (Milly Shapiro) -- get ready for Annie's mother's funeral.
Annie's mother, Ellen, had a close bond with granddaughter 'Charlie', but had a tricky relationship with Annie. Not long after the funeral, strannnnnge things start happening. Annie starts seeing ghosts in the house, she begins sleepwalking again {had more than few terrifying incident in the past}, and she ponders if her family's troubled psychiatric past is about to catch up with her. One fateful night, Peter goes to a party and is forced to bring young Charlie along {Annie wants her daughter to stop moping around the house and get out}. When Charlie accidentally eats nuts which trigger her deadly allergy, she is rushed to the hospital by her drug-impaired brother ... but a horrific car accident kills her en route. After this life-changing incident, and just like his now-traumatized mother, a disconsolate Peter starts seeing/hearing strange things, as well. At a grief counseling group meeting, Annie meets Joan (Ann Dowd, of The Handmaid's Tale fame), who'd like to teach Annie a way to contact deceased Charlie via the spirit world. Unfortunately, for all involved, the seance causes things to get stranger, yet. Turmoil & madness ensues.
Like I said, this will either resonate, seep into your bones & terrify or make people want to find the exit door from boredom {if my theater audience was any indication}. This dank, creepy flick is deeply rooted in horror classics from the 1960s & 70s, but also builds on them; with its deliberateness, super-serious severity & percussive jolts. 'Hereditary' reminded me - in fits & starts - of Rosemary's Baby, Poltergeist, & a host of other ghost/seance flicks. But Ari Aster isn't interested in merely referencing those predecessors. For as unsettling as most horror movies can be, this one goes deeper; providing disturbing themes AND images. Aster has a knack for letting his camera focus on one thing in a particular shot, while showing something sinister lingering either behind or atop of the focused image {which makes the whole visual have an otherworldly, distressing feel}. Thanks to this -- as well Annie's bizarre miniature models that she works on in the film -- reality & nightmare blur pretty easily. As for the film's music & sound design {you'll never forget Charlie's tongue click}, well, they're equally chilling.
All of that is fine. This is a well-crafted horror film. The performances are stellar, too. Toni Collette is very good as the tormented mother who's just riddled with regret & guilt. Her Annie is not sure of what's going on around her or even what's real; stuck in a loop of distress & anxiety. Having said THAT, I don't quite understand the awards-caliber praise she's getting. For me, Emily Blunt was better in a better horror film from just a couple of months ago. Blunt was more lived-in, not as over-the-top {Collette is outright shrill, in spots}, and she has her own OMG & kick-as* moments.
More impressive, to me, was Alex Wolff, who conveys a much more relatable form of terror; slumped at his desk at high school, sleep-deprived, wide-eyed & flummoxed by what's happening to him & his family. And Wolff excels in two particular scenes: 1) the aftermath of a road accident {my GOD, the sustained look on his face}. And 2) something that occurs to him in a classroom -- just, wow. Young Milly Shapiro is great as 'Charlie' -- enticingly bizarre, worthy of empathy. I just wish she were in the film more. Gabriel Byrne is stuck in one of those non-believer roles; asked to grow impatient with the supernatural "nonsense" going on around him; but he's very good in the role and, the character doesn't necessarily detract from the proceedings.
What detracts from the proceedings are two main things, for me. 1) It simply isn't nearly as scary as advertised. It's unsettling; sure. I peeked through my fingers an awful lot. But there's never any genuine scare pay-off after all those peek-through-your-fingers moments ... which leads to cumulative let downs. And 2) the last Act really descends into convoluted supernatural hokum. You either accept it & love the film regardless {as critics have}, or it doesn't sit well with you. It didn't quite sit well with me and, most audiences (with the damning D+ audience CinemaScore) loathed it. 'Hereditary' contains too many admirable traits to give a bad rating to, but I personally cannot sing its praises.
Annie's mother, Ellen, had a close bond with granddaughter 'Charlie', but had a tricky relationship with Annie. Not long after the funeral, strannnnnge things start happening. Annie starts seeing ghosts in the house, she begins sleepwalking again {had more than few terrifying incident in the past}, and she ponders if her family's troubled psychiatric past is about to catch up with her. One fateful night, Peter goes to a party and is forced to bring young Charlie along {Annie wants her daughter to stop moping around the house and get out}. When Charlie accidentally eats nuts which trigger her deadly allergy, she is rushed to the hospital by her drug-impaired brother ... but a horrific car accident kills her en route. After this life-changing incident, and just like his now-traumatized mother, a disconsolate Peter starts seeing/hearing strange things, as well. At a grief counseling group meeting, Annie meets Joan (Ann Dowd, of The Handmaid's Tale fame), who'd like to teach Annie a way to contact deceased Charlie via the spirit world. Unfortunately, for all involved, the seance causes things to get stranger, yet. Turmoil & madness ensues.
Like I said, this will either resonate, seep into your bones & terrify or make people want to find the exit door from boredom {if my theater audience was any indication}. This dank, creepy flick is deeply rooted in horror classics from the 1960s & 70s, but also builds on them; with its deliberateness, super-serious severity & percussive jolts. 'Hereditary' reminded me - in fits & starts - of Rosemary's Baby, Poltergeist, & a host of other ghost/seance flicks. But Ari Aster isn't interested in merely referencing those predecessors. For as unsettling as most horror movies can be, this one goes deeper; providing disturbing themes AND images. Aster has a knack for letting his camera focus on one thing in a particular shot, while showing something sinister lingering either behind or atop of the focused image {which makes the whole visual have an otherworldly, distressing feel}. Thanks to this -- as well Annie's bizarre miniature models that she works on in the film -- reality & nightmare blur pretty easily. As for the film's music & sound design {you'll never forget Charlie's tongue click}, well, they're equally chilling.
All of that is fine. This is a well-crafted horror film. The performances are stellar, too. Toni Collette is very good as the tormented mother who's just riddled with regret & guilt. Her Annie is not sure of what's going on around her or even what's real; stuck in a loop of distress & anxiety. Having said THAT, I don't quite understand the awards-caliber praise she's getting. For me, Emily Blunt was better in a better horror film from just a couple of months ago. Blunt was more lived-in, not as over-the-top {Collette is outright shrill, in spots}, and she has her own OMG & kick-as* moments.
More impressive, to me, was Alex Wolff, who conveys a much more relatable form of terror; slumped at his desk at high school, sleep-deprived, wide-eyed & flummoxed by what's happening to him & his family. And Wolff excels in two particular scenes: 1) the aftermath of a road accident {my GOD, the sustained look on his face}. And 2) something that occurs to him in a classroom -- just, wow. Young Milly Shapiro is great as 'Charlie' -- enticingly bizarre, worthy of empathy. I just wish she were in the film more. Gabriel Byrne is stuck in one of those non-believer roles; asked to grow impatient with the supernatural "nonsense" going on around him; but he's very good in the role and, the character doesn't necessarily detract from the proceedings.
What detracts from the proceedings are two main things, for me. 1) It simply isn't nearly as scary as advertised. It's unsettling; sure. I peeked through my fingers an awful lot. But there's never any genuine scare pay-off after all those peek-through-your-fingers moments ... which leads to cumulative let downs. And 2) the last Act really descends into convoluted supernatural hokum. You either accept it & love the film regardless {as critics have}, or it doesn't sit well with you. It didn't quite sit well with me and, most audiences (with the damning D+ audience CinemaScore) loathed it. 'Hereditary' contains too many admirable traits to give a bad rating to, but I personally cannot sing its praises.