Phenomenal build up of suspense and dread that unfortunately leads up to a pretty unoriginal 'Rosemary's Baby' remake

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2018)

I had some very mixed feelings about this one. I went into it completely cold, only knowing that it was extremely polarizing but that the people who loved it are heralding it as a generational horror film. It's excellent until it gets to it's second act and so in essence the pay off cannot match the build up. Which is a shame because 'Hereditary' expertly does what a great horror film should do, it builds dread to palpable levels. This I think is in thanks to it's cast which is top notch(with one notable exception). Toni Collette should generate Best Actress consideration. Milly Shaprio as the doomed daughter Charlie is outstanding at being sad and creepy with an utmost minimalist performance. Gabriel Byrne rounds out the cast with an excellent performance of his own. He plays the horror skeptic very well. He's always had a lot of gravitas and that reacting to the horror lends it's self well to the uncertainness of what is happening.
So much of 'Hereditary' is reading between the lines and seeing the subtext behind the characters. That is a mark of great writing and great acting. As I said before the best thing about the film is the sense of dread hanging over it. It is a taut spellbinder where we truly feel as if something horrible can happen at any minute.
Eventually though we get to the explanations behind the ghouls and witchcraft and then a lot of the good will the film built up goes away. It's too loud. And that one notable exception really stands out. I think Alex Wolff as Peter is a major disappointment. There's no real build up to his performance. He goes into histrionics almost immediately and so the character doesn't seem like he has any dimension to him. The last act of the film is entirely based on his reaction to the horror and his over punctuation seems kind of silly.
The 'Rosemary's Baby' remake the film eventually becomes has been told so many ways before. It's shot well but it isn't original. It's too loud too for a film that in it's best moments plays it close to the chest. It would have been a better movie had it been a more macabre psychological drama about grief and fear in the aftermath of a loss.