Hereditary is an American psychological horror movie from director Ari Aster. The film stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Gabriel Byrne. And was produced by A24 pictures. It premiered on January 21st, 2018 at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival to generally good reviews. I am watching the UHD streaming version on Amazon.

Synopsis

Annie (Toni Collette) and her family, Steve (Gabriel Byrne), Peter (Alex Wolff) and young daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro), are mourning the loss of Annie’s mother and not taking it very well. They begin to unravel disturbing secrets and awaken spiritual and emotional trauma that have been passed through the generations of their family.

Analysis and Notes

The movie poster reminds me of a Puscifer album cover. It definitely has a dark and brooding feeling. Seriously ominous overtones that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I was always wondering what was going to happen next.

The acting is a huge part of why this movie is so effective. These actors bring it. As could be expected, Toni Collette is amazing. She’s such a great actor. Her ability to move from emotion to emotion flawlessly is masterful. She is supported by veteran of the screen, Gabriel Byrne, and joined by Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro who all do a fantastic job. Alex Wolff may have been a little hammy, and Byrne’s accent slipped a few times, but it wasn’t anything that could be considered bad.

The fear is gut-wrenching and well delivered. It’s not the type of horror movie that you would expect. This is a lot colder and much more terrifying. The filmmakers lean heavily on reality and mental illness as the villain for the picture. Ari Aster wanted to "make a film about suffering that took suffering seriously".

Some of the visual choices were done really well. I loved how outside shots of the home resembled a model. Scenes are really well framed and the color choices, although dark and gloomy, really helped to set the mood. It’s tremendous.

Overall

I didn’t know what to expect and I am completely blown away by it. The film is very tough to watch and has a lot of deep psychological terror. But that’s a good thing. Hereditary is a lot like Rosemary’s Baby or newer films like The Babadook and US. It relies on very realistic horror and delivers terror that seeps deep into your bones. I don’t know if I am happy to have seen this. But it’s a devilishly horrid film that’s perfect for a horror movie marathon.