When Ellen passes away,
her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying
secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find
themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited.
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex
Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne
Rated R for horror
violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and brief graphic nudity
Genres: Drama, Horror,
Mystery
Runtime: 2h 7min
Review:
Hereditary is a classic
horror film fans dream. Ari Aster, who
wrote and directs, is clearly a fan of 70’s and 80’s horror films and he mines
a handful of tropes to deliver an emotionally mature and nerve grinding
experience. Aster’s film is a slow burn
decent into madness. It’s efficient and
effective as it sets up the film’s plot by dropping tidbits of information here
and there. It demands the audience’s
attention, asking them to pay close attention to little details. At its center is Toni Collette who delivers
an incredible performance. Collette
gives the kind of performance that’s sure to join the annals of horror
performances like Jack Nicholson in The Shining or Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s
Baby. Milly Shapiro fills the creepy kid quotient
leaving an impression in a limited performance.
Gabriel Byrne is appropriately worried throughout while Alex Wolff is
increasingly terrorized. Hereditary is
one of those films that linger with you after you leave the theater, usually
the hallmark of the best kind of horror films.
A-
