Hereditary
It’s very rare that a horror film has me absolutely shitting it from the get go - ‘Hereditary’ did it in a matter of minutes. It was the first experience I have ever had in a cinema where I actively had to get up and leave, to take a breather - all because of a simple tongue click, an innocent gesture that will now forever scar my adolescent brain - and more importantly - remind me of this film.
Now I’m not going to touch on spoilers but I’ve seen this film being dubbed as the modern-day ‘Exorcist’, which I don’t fully believe. However some story beats do strangely remind me of the Exorcist, specifically the supernatural element to the story. Hereditary definitely does take its inspirations from other horror classics like ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘Don’t Look Now’, in their balance between mainstream horror and art-house horror. However, Hereditary feels like one of these classic horror films on cocaine. Lots of cocaine.
It takes a lot to scare me, I watch a lot of horror films - I know the tropes. Yet Hereditary had me shook to the very core, the film isn’t here to entertain you, it’s here to scare the living shit out of you. This is a debut film feature from writer-director Ari Aster, who previously had only directed short films. His presence is truly felt throughout this film, his approach to storytelling is unique and frankly, a breath of fresh air.
The film’s story is admittedly very conventional. It follows the Graham family as they are immediately faced with loss as: Annie (Toni Collette) mother who has just passed away from a battle with cancer and the effects this passing has on her and her even tempered husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), and their two children - joyless teenager Peter (Alex Wolff) and slightly sinister Charlie (Milly Shapiro) who possesses the urge to craft toys from morbid materials. #JusticeForThePigeon.
Yet, Hereditary is a very competent film, it understands, how to carefully manipulate tension that can make scenes almost unbearable to watch, this is down to Aster’s undeniable talent. From the opening sequence alone, I could tell this film was being held by a director with a lot of passion for his craft and for the horror genre. Aster understands that fear is very subjective, that it is going to be different for everyone, however something that everyone can relate to is family tragedy, which brings a sense of realism to this film, which for me made this film very unsettling.
There are moments in this film- in the corner of some frames, in the shadows- where you feel the presence of something lurking then BAM! - a wide shot - and there it is, in the frame for a really, really long time and it fucking terrified me. There are multiple times in this film, where you feel your body seize up and trust me, I have watched a lot of horror films and maybe that is why this film stood out to me because it is so unique and different. A lot of this is down to excellent editing and sound design and the overall skill of Aster as he clearly is a director that knows what the fuck he is doing.
I adored how Aster directed this film, he has already proven himself to be a master of this genre. I walked out of this film speechless and only one other film has ever done that to me (2001 a space odyssey). Hereditary blew me away in every sense: from beginning to end this film is an experience, from the excellent cinematography and outstanding sound design and score, met with a beyond excellent performance by Toni Collette, which I honestly believe to be Oscar-worthy and without a doubt is the standout factor of the film…
