So close to being a classic

Rating: 7/10 (21 October 2018)

There is so much to love about "Hereditary." The acting, particularly Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, is raw and real. The glacial pacing adds to the skin-crawling creepiness. The soundtrack drags you into the depths of dread. And the subtle visual effects are probably the highlight, teasing and toying with the viewer's sense of reality, offering real frights, not just momentary shocks.
That said, without giving anything away, where "Hereditary" misses the mark for me is by explaining too much. The best psychological horror films, in my opinion, succeed by carefully treading that line between what's real and what's a figment of the imagination-and to be fair, "Hereditary" does succeed in treading this line for a good part of the film-however, when it comes to wrapping it up, the ambiguity is either left open, as in "The Haunting," "Cache," or "The Babadook," or answered with a plausible truth, as in "Les Diaboliques," "The Innocents," "Psycho," or "The Wicker Man." Personally, I felt the ending was neither here nor there. There's a Netflix show called "Requiem" that plays with similar themes, with a more satisfying conclusion.
Still, I think this film is entertaining and will satisfy most horror film fans. I'd be extremely suspect of the 1-star reviews, as this is a solidly crafted film with excellent production values, superb acting and insightful writing. As I said, so close...