Hereditary Reviews

Have always had a lot of appreciation for horror, even though it isn't my favourite genre, and 'Hereditary' was a film that immediately held my interest in seeing it with such an arresting concept. Although more polarising with audiences it was very positively received films critically, having more than once seen and heard it described as one of the year's best.

Despite reviewing it only now, 'Hereditary' was another film viewed weeks ago but with so many commitments and such a big to watch and review list it's taken a long time to get round to reviewing it. While the polarisation is understandable, count me in as another person who was really impressed by 'Hereditary', very nearly loving it even. Of my recent 2018 viewings, it definitely stands out as one of the better ones and it is not hard to see whether it is considered in as high regard as it is. Can also see why it has been compared to 'The Exorcist' and 'The Shining', having just as much the same amount of dread and hellish atmosphere, and also couldn't help thinking of another slow-burn horror from this year that divided opinion but was also critically acclaimed 'A Quiet Place'. Not in concept and they're different films, but in that they're polarising but mostly positively regarded and both films that were very well made, well acted and unnerving.

It is hard to know where to begin praising something with so many positives. 'Hereditary' is incredibly well made visually, one of the most audacious and best-looking films in the genre in recent years. The photography is both dream-like and nightmarish, while the film is slickly edited, atmospherically lit and the spacious house, with a mix of the audacious and the ghoulish, is like its own character.

The music is haunting and adds to the unnerving atmosphere as does some of the most effective sound editing and design of the year, never being obvious or cheap and providing a lot of eeriness. The writing flows well and never becomes corny or overly-wordy, sometimes even thought-provoking in particularly in what it has to say about grief and trauma.

While a deliberate slow-burn for me 'Hereditary' was not dull at all, helped enormously by the atmosphere and the near-perfect balance of family drama, which was often very poignant and packs a powerful emotional wallop, and horror, where there is not any over-reliance on predictable horror tropes and cheap scare tactics and actually was frightening and suspenseful. It always is interesting seeing film debuts and there are some fine ones out there, Ari Astor's directing is remarkably well accomplished with a fine eye for detail and an adeptness for how to pace such an atmosphere.

Characterisation-wise, 'Hereditary' is quite compelling and there is a realism to it. The performances are near-perfect, with Gabriel Byrne occasionally slightly under-playing but generally it is one of his best performances in a while. The star here is Toni Collette in a truly marvellous and often moving turn that calls for a mix of grief and terror, Collette grieves with pathos and conveys terror with intensity. Alex Woolf is the other standout for similar reasons though Milly Shapiro is not to be neglected.

It is a shame that the ending is rushed and that plausibility loses its way at this point, instead coming over as silly and like the film had run out of steam.

Otherwise, a very good film that was very nearly excellent. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Imagino a Ari Aster tras finalizar el rodaje como: "soy un maldito genio, qué locura acabo de hacer"

Otra película de terror donde todo sucede porque "aaa la bruja Lerma y su secta"

Al menos Rosemary Baby era algo más sutil y te dejaba con la duda hasta el final.

Pero no, definitivamente toda esa escena final (bien dirigida como casi toda la película) es hasta redundante con la " revelación" que te hace la cinta

Toni Collette muy bien, Alex Wolff también y tal. ¿Pero es lo que esperas de actores no?
Con actuaciones casi nunca se salva una película. Esta no es la excepción.

Como todas las películas de brujas que maldicen , se me hace ridícula. Difícil de tomarmela enserio incluso dentro de la lógica de ser una obra ficticia.
Y el tema de las maldiciones y la magia negra es algo tan general y libre que mejor no ponerse a dar vueltas de cómo funciona porque es tonto y sería sobredimensionar.
Pero eché en falta más momentos como los del final de persecución y movimiento.

Antes de eso no es soporífera y poco a poco van sacando cosas. Pero vaya. Le falta dinamismo.


Flojita la verdad. Y sobrevalorada.

Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I really loved the damned thing and it turned out to be the best horror film I have seen for a very long time, no less than that. To be honest, it is definitely a slow-burn movie and, if you would expect a standard horror flick, you would be disappointed since at least 3/4 is actually a family drama. In fact, many viewers consider this movie as a drama but I can't remember the last time I watched a movie mixing these two genres that worked so well. As a result, the dramatic parts managed to ground the story and the characters and you had more time to get to know and care about them. Still, the last 30 minutes, when the horror part finally really kicked in, were just so unsettling and pretty damned f*cking scary, it was just an awesome way to conclude this tale. Sure, you could argue that the outcome was after all rather predictable but it worked just fine for me. On top of that, I just loved that, even though some stuff was explained, they didn't chew out everything freaking details and the fact that some of it remained mysterious made the whole thing even more spellbinding to behold. And, of course, Toni Collette displayed once again that she is a terribly underrated character actress as she delivered here another really strong performance. Anyway, to conclude, this movie definitely deserves its strong reputation and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Effective, but I rather stay in the first half, the tragic family life, the demonic fantasy is too conventional and visual after the splendid Toni Collette acting

Ever wonder what a horror film with zero exposition would be like? The answer is genuinely unsettling. Hereditary let's you know so little until it's climax that you'll be paranoid and suspicious of every single damn thing going on in a bid to try to figure things out and convince yourself that it's main character is not going insane or has her fingers in the pie. A dash of Rosemary's Baby, mixed with some Suspiria and the original Wicker Man and you might begin to see where it all ends up.

Hereditary is tense, disturbing, disorienting, deliberately paced, devoid of cheap scares but full of genuine spine chilling scenarios, and filled with clues and riddles that will have you wanting to go back to see it again to get a clearer view of the plot. Foremost, Hereditary is clever in the way it approaches familiar ground. As aforementioned, exposition is done away with. The viewer is literally in the shoes of the afflicted and as lost as they are. We grasp for knowledge that the movie itself informs us we don't possess and it leaves you genuinely stranded in the midst of madness.

Of course, resolving the dilemma only makes thing all the more horrifying! Therein lies the genius of the movie, it will have you wanting to go back for more if only to see things more clearly and fit the pieces in place. Already being called as a worthy successor to such greats as The Exorcist, Hereditary has definitely earned it's place. An Instant classic.

The worst doo-doo trash I've seen in a theater in quite a while. I looked at my watch several times and almost walked out 30 minutes before it was over. I can't believe this has good reviews!

Hereditary has a silly, disjointed plot and the scares are a jumble of every ghost story and haunted house cliche you've ever seen in a generic horror movie. The cast are a mismatched group who only know how to overact or underact. There was, maybe, one genuinely creepy scene in the entire film. The rest of the time I was rolling my eyes or snickering.