Hereditary (2018) Review
So let me just say that Hereditary is a really good horror movie and if you are at all interested in seeing it, go check it out now. The less you know going in, the better, and I can't really talk about the movie without getting into heavy spoilers. So from here on out...SPOILER ALERT! You've been warned.
Hereditary follows the tragedy of the Graham family; Annie (Toni Collette), her husband, Steve (Gabriel Byrne), their son, Peter (Alex Wolff), and their daughter, Charlie (Milly Shapiro). The film begins with the death of Annie's mother, who suffered from some severe mental disorders, as did Annie's father and brother. Both Annie and Charlie are affected by the loss, though Annie tries not to show it. Later, Peter and Charlie get in a car accident which results in Charlie's death. Grief and guilt descend upon the family and each begins lashing out in their own way. As the family starts falling apart, Annie begins acting crazily, trying to get the family to take part in a séance, seeing ghosts, and talking about her mother being part of a cult. Steve is skeptical, but Peter buys into it as he is seeing things as well. The question becomes; is Annie mentally ill like the rest of her family, or is there some sinister force out to get the Graham's?
What Works:
The hype surrounding this film is mostly about how terrifying it is. That part lives up to the hype. Hereditary will make your skin crawl. The best part is; the film doesn't rely on cheep jump scares to make you jump. Hereditary is better than that. It uses dread, builds tension, and actual horror to scare you and it works. It also uses some shock horror, going places most movies wouldn't dare go. This movie is freaking scary and will stick with you long after it's over.
Both Toni Collette and Alex Wolff are amazing in this film. Watching Toni lose her mind over the course of the film is incredibly engaging and she is so believable I would be scared to meet her in a dark alley. Her monologue she gives at a grief counseling meeting is especially impressive as it's all done in one take and the range of emotions she's goes through is incredible. Her relationship with Alex's character is the focal point of the movie, and it's equal parts fascinating and horrifying to watch. Alex starts as a typical, pot-smoking teen, but transitions to guilt-stricken from Charlie's death, traumatized from Annie's treatment of him, to finally breaking down completely and crying for his mommy. It's a fascinating arc and Alex Wolff really brings it. You feel awful this kid and you're rooting for him to make it out of this madness, but, deep down, you know he won't.
Finally, I want to bring attention to Milly Shapiro's performance and the use of her character, Charlie. This kid is creepy. Every time she is on screen, every time she says a line of dialogue, every time she makes that tongue-clicking noise, my skin crawls. It's a really impressive performance. But the most memorable part is Charlie's death. I wasn't expecting it at all. The trailer for this movie did a good job of misleading the audience, making us think Charlie is the focal point of the movie, instead it's her death that really kicks things off. I always admire it when a movies has the guts to kill off a kid, and not only do they do that in Hereditary, but it's shocking, violent, and gory. Great stuff.
What Sucks:
I have two major problems with Hereditary. The film has two possible outcomes: the first is that everything that happens was due to Annie and possibly Peter's mental illness. The other is that some dark force is out to get the family. It turns out that the dark force story is correct one and that a cult is behind everything. I don't love this. Between the two endings, I feel that the mental illness was not only more well set-up, but it was also the much more interesting story. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cult movie. It just seems like the mental illness story-line would have had a much more interesting outcome. I would rather have seen a story where a mother goes nuts and kills her husband and son. That is way more terrifying to me than a generic cult trying to bring a demon into the world. It seems like a missed opportunity.
Finally, I have to say I didn't care for the final scene of the movie. At first I was intrigued when Peter climbed into the tree-house to find a cult worshiping a demon inside. It was very bizarre and I was prepared for the movie to end right there. Instead, it goes on to explain exactly what is happening in that Peter's body has now been possessed by a demon. I didn't need this spelled out for me. Being so direct with an information dump at the last minute took the wind out of the movie's sails. Basically it didn't quite stick the landing. I wish it would have been a little more vague. I think it would been more memorable if the ending had been more ambiguous.
Verdict:
Hereditary is without a doubt one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I love that it doesn't use cheap scares, but freaks you out by building the tension and making the audience dread what is going to happen. It's very effective in this regard. Plus the performances are all excellent and they really drive the film. Unfortunate, it doesn't quite stick the landing with a last-minute information dump and I think the filmmakers definitely missed an opportunity in the direction they chose to take the story. That said, Hereditary is a very effective horror film, and one that left an impression that won't be going away any time soon, and it definitely has got it going on.
8/10: Really Good
Hereditary follows the tragedy of the Graham family; Annie (Toni Collette), her husband, Steve (Gabriel Byrne), their son, Peter (Alex Wolff), and their daughter, Charlie (Milly Shapiro). The film begins with the death of Annie's mother, who suffered from some severe mental disorders, as did Annie's father and brother. Both Annie and Charlie are affected by the loss, though Annie tries not to show it. Later, Peter and Charlie get in a car accident which results in Charlie's death. Grief and guilt descend upon the family and each begins lashing out in their own way. As the family starts falling apart, Annie begins acting crazily, trying to get the family to take part in a séance, seeing ghosts, and talking about her mother being part of a cult. Steve is skeptical, but Peter buys into it as he is seeing things as well. The question becomes; is Annie mentally ill like the rest of her family, or is there some sinister force out to get the Graham's?
What Works:
The hype surrounding this film is mostly about how terrifying it is. That part lives up to the hype. Hereditary will make your skin crawl. The best part is; the film doesn't rely on cheep jump scares to make you jump. Hereditary is better than that. It uses dread, builds tension, and actual horror to scare you and it works. It also uses some shock horror, going places most movies wouldn't dare go. This movie is freaking scary and will stick with you long after it's over.
Both Toni Collette and Alex Wolff are amazing in this film. Watching Toni lose her mind over the course of the film is incredibly engaging and she is so believable I would be scared to meet her in a dark alley. Her monologue she gives at a grief counseling meeting is especially impressive as it's all done in one take and the range of emotions she's goes through is incredible. Her relationship with Alex's character is the focal point of the movie, and it's equal parts fascinating and horrifying to watch. Alex starts as a typical, pot-smoking teen, but transitions to guilt-stricken from Charlie's death, traumatized from Annie's treatment of him, to finally breaking down completely and crying for his mommy. It's a fascinating arc and Alex Wolff really brings it. You feel awful this kid and you're rooting for him to make it out of this madness, but, deep down, you know he won't.
Finally, I want to bring attention to Milly Shapiro's performance and the use of her character, Charlie. This kid is creepy. Every time she is on screen, every time she says a line of dialogue, every time she makes that tongue-clicking noise, my skin crawls. It's a really impressive performance. But the most memorable part is Charlie's death. I wasn't expecting it at all. The trailer for this movie did a good job of misleading the audience, making us think Charlie is the focal point of the movie, instead it's her death that really kicks things off. I always admire it when a movies has the guts to kill off a kid, and not only do they do that in Hereditary, but it's shocking, violent, and gory. Great stuff.
What Sucks:
I have two major problems with Hereditary. The film has two possible outcomes: the first is that everything that happens was due to Annie and possibly Peter's mental illness. The other is that some dark force is out to get the family. It turns out that the dark force story is correct one and that a cult is behind everything. I don't love this. Between the two endings, I feel that the mental illness was not only more well set-up, but it was also the much more interesting story. Don't get me wrong, I love a good cult movie. It just seems like the mental illness story-line would have had a much more interesting outcome. I would rather have seen a story where a mother goes nuts and kills her husband and son. That is way more terrifying to me than a generic cult trying to bring a demon into the world. It seems like a missed opportunity.
Finally, I have to say I didn't care for the final scene of the movie. At first I was intrigued when Peter climbed into the tree-house to find a cult worshiping a demon inside. It was very bizarre and I was prepared for the movie to end right there. Instead, it goes on to explain exactly what is happening in that Peter's body has now been possessed by a demon. I didn't need this spelled out for me. Being so direct with an information dump at the last minute took the wind out of the movie's sails. Basically it didn't quite stick the landing. I wish it would have been a little more vague. I think it would been more memorable if the ending had been more ambiguous.
Verdict:
Hereditary is without a doubt one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I love that it doesn't use cheap scares, but freaks you out by building the tension and making the audience dread what is going to happen. It's very effective in this regard. Plus the performances are all excellent and they really drive the film. Unfortunate, it doesn't quite stick the landing with a last-minute information dump and I think the filmmakers definitely missed an opportunity in the direction they chose to take the story. That said, Hereditary is a very effective horror film, and one that left an impression that won't be going away any time soon, and it definitely has got it going on.
8/10: Really Good
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