Hereditary

Hereditary

Starring Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne

Directed by Ari Aster

The Story:
After the death of her mother, Annie (Toni Collette) reveals that the two were never really close - in fact her family has had a long line of mental illnesses that has plagued them, and her mother was no different.  After her death, strange events begin occurring to the family, and especially to Annie's youngest daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro).  It seems that the past doesn't want to die, and family secrets soon surface in dangerous and deadly ways.

The Synopsis:
Production company A24 has released some truly stellar work in recent years, some of which ("Lady Bird," "The Florida Project," "Room," and especially "Moonlight") have been recognized the the Academy for being some of the best of the best, and others ("The Killing of a Sacred Deer," "The Lobster," "A Ghost Story") have received critical acclaim.  They've even claimed a huge stake in the horror genre, producing such terrifyingly original and well-thought-out films such as "The Witch," "Green Room," and "It Comes at Night."  "Hereditary" could become the rare A24 film that could achieve all three - be recognized by the Academy, receive critical acclaim, and become another horror classic decades down the line.

The critics are already praising "Hereditary" as one of the scariest movies in decades, relating it to the classics like "Rosemary's Baby" and "The Exorcist."  While it's nice to include the film in such grand company, it also does a disservice to the film as well: people go in with an overwhelming expectation to truly be scared out of their seats, and that's why I feel the film has received an abysmal D+ CinemaScore, and a 59% Rotten Tomatoes rating (even as the critics grade it a 91%).  Personally, I feel that the film isn't scary - and I will explain that in a bit - but rather it is a deeply psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, never feeling a moment of happiness or calm as the film spiraled from the outrageous beginning to the shocking middle and literally cringe-inducing conclusion.  Those words used may make you think I hated the film, but the opposite is true: I found it to be one of the most unnerving films I've seen in years, a film that has haunted me long after seeing it - in short, it achieved its goal.

 The term "scary" is a very generic word nowadays, and it's not always fair to claim a film is "scary."  What scares one person doesn't necessarily scare another.  For me, "Paranormal Activity" wasn't scary in the slightest, while other people can't stomach seeing it for a second time.  The "Saw" movies freaked some people out, but seeing people get tortured for no real reason didn't keep me up at night.  I still remember seeing "The Ring" in theaters, and watching as teenage girls literally ran screaming and crying out of the film, while I sat there and  became engrossed in the story (that's not saying "The Ring" is terrifying, it was downright amazing).  With "Hereditary," I wouldn't say I was necessarily scared by it, but it did something even more powerful to my psyche: it burrowed in so deep that I can't get it out of my head.  To me, that's something even scarier than being scared: it's almost traumatizing.

Kudos goes to first-time feature director Ari Aster, who also wrote the script.  He managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, in eager anticipation and trepidation as to what to expect next, and never followed the traditional horror tropes of lame jump scares.  Instead, he relied on his cinematography to brilliantly weave his powerfully mind-tripping story in a way that kept me riveted from start to finish.  When I expected the film to go one way, it went another, and then made a hard right turn unexpectedly.   I was on my toes, not knowing where the story was going next, but wholly invested in tagging along for the ride.

Toni Collette owns the film as Annie, in a performance so powerful and memorable she's already in consideration for an Academy Award nomination.  Her character is deeply flawed and wholly unwholesome, leaving you agape in awe, as you travel this unstoppable roller coaster.  She gives several memorable moments that deliver a powerful gut-punch, none of which more outstanding than a family dinner that turns to pure hell.  Typically, you want a lead character you can follow and feel safe with, but Annie offers no such condolences: she mentions right at the start how messed up her family is mentally, so you already know it's not going to be sunshine and lollipops.

Then there's Milly Shapiro, who is a pure force of nature.  She gives the character of Charlie such an edge that you can't help but wonder what the heck is going on inside her brain.  She leaves a lasting impression that you won't soon forget.  So too is Alex Wolff's performance as Annie's son Peter, who has some strong issues with his mother that manifest in extraordinary ways.  Gabriel Byrne, however, doesn't offer much in his performance as Annie's husband Steve, but the film really isn't about him anyway.

Annie enjoys making miniature figures and buildings, and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski uses that to his full advantage.  The film opens with a miniature home, and as the camera zooms in we see that the figures inside are actually people, and it comes across to the viewer that we're seeing a miniature version of the lives of the main characters.  When the characters interact in their home, the camera angle makes it look like they're just mini figures in a big set piece, and it is visually stunning and adds to the unnerving nature of the film.  So too is the sound, where epic moments swell in a way that's masterful, but also the use of silence in times where you'd expect a jump scare to occur makes you feeling very uneasy, not to mention the epic string picks that strike at your innermost being.

Speaking of sound, the film manages to take the most innocent sound and make it truly terrifying, much like the clapping sound did for "The Conjuring."  This comes in the form of Charlie's clicking of her tongue against the roof of her mouth, which occurs several times throughout the film, and sometimes at the most shocking moments.  I can't click my tongue again without thinking about it.

So why were audiences so dead-set against the film?  I believe it's a combination of the film being oversold as another horror classic (give it another twenty or so years before that happens), a trailer that doesn't give everything away (kudos to them, the trailer was one of the best because it gave you just enough desire without giving anything serious away), and an expectation to be truly scared with jump scares from start to finish, instead of watching a family slowly unraveling as the terror builds around them - and that's not a bad thing at all.

The Summary:
Combining a solid script with insane cinematography, sound effects, and exceptional performances, "Hereditary" might not be a classic in the vein of "The Exorcist" or "Rosemary's Baby," but it still managed to leave a lasting impression in my mind, becoming one of my current favorite horror movies.

The Score: A+