A dissappointment for me, but some horror fans are probably thrilled

Rating: 5/10 (4 July 2018)

After the grandmother passes away, a grieving family is haunted by disturbing occurrences, and it gets worse from there.
Starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd et al.
"Hereditary" is a good example of why I only watch the most acclaimed of new horror movies, and still end up more or less disappointed.
I consider horror one of the most soul-numbingly generic of screen genres out there.
Even the best works tend to rehash the same storytelling, visual or scare tactics cliches, happily ignoring the fact that most good stories start from character- and world-building, so there would be a reason for us to actually care about what comes next.
The worldwide success of Stephen King's writing has proved it already almost half a century ago, although his works have been far more varied than his mainstream image as the "horror king" hints at.
(Yes, the movies based on his writing usually repeat said mistake too, but that's another topic.)
"Hereditary", as the recent good example "Ghost Stories", starts strong. The debuting screenwriter-director Ari Aster has invested enough time and care to properly building things up, so it really feels like a unique place and time, populated with real people as opposed to pawns on the board to help move the story along.
In the best King's novels traditions, the opening chapter takes it slow, letting the audience immerse themselves in the lives of the central characters. One could call it a family drama with supernatural elements few and far between, just for a taste.
So far, so good - at least for those who really care about quality storytelling. But brace yourself and, above all, prepare to be patient.
"Hereditary's" trailers - not to mention the overall image of horror movies as dispensers of cheap quick scares - will probably work against the authors' best intentions. If you are waiting for some cheap quick thrills, you may turn impatient before the horror arrives in full force.
It does happens but only in the middle of the long story, more or less, or after the first hour. This means that the less intelligent or committed part of the audience will be tired of waiting already - they will probably start checking the phones, laughing at random things, conversating loudly, etc.
Considering that one can't choose or control the fellow people in cinema, I consider "Hereditary" much better viewing at home or for selected audience. Otherwise there's a real chance of mouth-breathers ruining at least some of the experience for the others.
Anyway, the performances are committed and strong too, fully supporting the director's pursuit for building up the general atmosphere and suspense.
Aster has used quite a lot of long close-up shots here, to accentuate the characters' suffering and inner turmoil which helps make the result feel one of its kind and special.
Veteran thespians such as Collette and Byrne do their job very well as usual, but younger stars such as Wolff and Shapiro are deliciously watchable as well, commanding the screen whenever they are on it, like it was easy or something.
Milly Shapiro, the creepy little star of the trailer, plays actually a supporting character - which is a shame, really. I can't imagine anybody getting enough of her outlandishness before she has to give the central place to other characters.
So, the second hour starts, the horror arrives in full force... and that's it. All the qualities that make the first hour so strong and memorable (slow tempo, haunting style, character- and world-building) just vanish, making way to generic scare fest that you could easily get from any other cheap and fast horror movie.
Switching gears is not bad in itself but disgarding all the deliciousness that has come before makes the second hour very humdrum, at least for yours truly.
It's feels like a long unvaried ride in theme park's haunted house, without the original thoughtfully measured family drama adding some meat to the cinematic bones. The acting is still really good but it's not enough.
Later I read from IMDb that the original cut of "Hereditary" could have easily pushed over three hours, mostly consisting of more family stuff (which would have added depth to the second part). That's probably why the second hour feels more flaky and less coherent.
Ari Aster has done a series of shorts, but putting together a feature-length movie is much harder.
Or maybe the producers didn't let him realise his original vision, forcing to add more and more "scary stuff", until it started having desensitizing effect, making one feel just kind of "meh".
Having said that, many critics seem to really like the movie. Scores at Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes are sky-high. The users's scores are markedly lower but still higher than my 5/10. Go figure.