After months on the festival circuit, it has been very hard to stay away from trailers and spoilers for a24’s upcoming Hereditary. I watch a lot (and I mean a lot) of horror movies, so for one to actually make me jump in my seat or feel uneasy is a welcome surprise. With the seemingly relentless praise coming out of Sundance and SXSW, I tried to not watch any previews, hoping that all of the hype was real. And, man, the hype held up.
Unlike my lead-up to watching this film, however, this review does have some spoilers so, if you haven’t watched any trailers yet, just stop reading and go see this movie.
Hereditary revolves around a dysfunctional family after the events of their grandmother dying. It affects everyone in the family differently. The real horror that draws you into this slow-burn story is the relatability of the loss. As the family dysfunction builds, strange things start to happen (of course).
The mother, Annie Graham, (as played by Toni Collette) is our main point-of-view, taking in everything going around her, compounding it into the mania inside her. Collette gives an amazing performance as her character’s emotional and mental state unravels building to a jaw-dropping crescendo. Annie is dealing with the family death in the best way she can: attending group therapy. Her husband is trying to hold the family together, as well, by playing the straight character as their son goes down his own dark path. (I am purposely leaving out all mentions of the daughter from this write up. Yes, she is in all the previews and, yes, she is in the key art … but to say anything about her character is a spoiler. Milly Shapiro gives a strong performance that will leave you with nightmares of clicking sounds.)
This is a horror movie. Are there going to be some truly violent scenes? Yes. Will you be disgusted by what you see? Yes. It all has a point, building to something I still can’t stop thinking about.
If you hear other people throw around the phrase “instant classic”, it’s because Hereditary will be one. Go watch this in a theater, with a crowd of scared moviegoers … the hype really is warranted. You may not jump out of your seat but you will be on the edge as the dread builds.
