Nightmares Brought to the Big Screen.

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2018)

I came into the theater with high hopes that what I was about to witness would be a horror classic; a movie that is cutting edge, skin crawling, visceral, cerebral, electrifying, and to some degree traumatizing. I wanted a film that I could liken to classics such as The Exorcist, Alien, The Thing, The Descent, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Psycho.
To my delight, I was not only impressed, I was in a state of disbelief. Once the credits started rolling and Both Sides Now by Judy Collins starts playing (kudos Ari Aster) I was 'shooketh'. "What did I just watch?" I thought to myself. Now mind you, I wasn't particularly scared at all when the movie was over, but I think it went beyond being scared, thrilled. I was symptomatic of being sick: migraine, nausea, sweating, the chills.. it felt like I had the flu! However, it wasn't a flu, just the sheer intensity of this movie made me feel like I was running a temperature.
Onto the things I liked about this movie:
DETAIL - I really, really enjoy Ari's approach to filmmaking. He's both humble in the way he presents himself and the work he does, and with his work, he puts his ALL into every element, shot, theme, color, camera movement, lighting; when watching Hereditary you can just see talent oozing from every shot of the film. One might require a second viewing, but when looking back on the film, you can see that this family is visually evident of being doomed from the get-go. You can see cult members lingering in the background as far back as the beginning (I didn't notice at first but when researching I got chills down my spine).
Unexpected Horror - Midway, we see Peter getting an invite for a house party. The way this scene is built up is so incredibly tense, so gripping, that I nearly covered my eyes. Annie makes Peter bring his sister to this party as a means to give him an ultimatum on being responsible. Unfortunately, it backfires on everybody in the worst possible way. Charlie ends up eating chocolate cake that had walnuts while Peter is smoking pot with his buddies. We see poor Charlie in the corner breathing with the sound of constriction. Peter rushes her in the car and starts bolting down a dark desolate road at 80 miles an hour with Charlie gasping for air, kicking violently in the back (kudos Milly Shapiro for the electrifying performance). A dead dear is in then middle of the road, Peter swerves to dodge the carcass, and Charlie rolls down the window in an attempt to get more airflow, and then the unthinkable happens. Charlie hits her head on a telephone pole in a car going 80 miles an hour. Peter, in a state of shock, stops the car and can't even scream, turn around, nothing. His eyes watery, hands shaking, he pulls away, makes it home, and goes upstairs. The following morning, the camera remains on Peter's face with the faint sound of his mother going downstairs. What would follow was probably the most haunting, heartbreaking, ice cold experience I've ever witnessed in a movie. Annie's screams of absolute horror discovering her own child followed by a shot of the road where Charlie's head is, panning back to Annie's cries and pleas of wanting to die will be remembered as one of the most horrific scenes in cinema history.
Realism -One of the most notable aspects of the movie is that there are no heroes. We have a mother, on the brink of a complete meltdown, harboring guilt and despair trying to navigate through life, barely hanging on. Peter is reduced to a scared child, screaming "MOMMY" unable to keep it together anymore. Lastly, there's Steve. A father that cares for his family, but has no idea what the hell is happening around him. You can see his feelings of horrendous discomfort, but he has no outlet; he's the one that is supposed to keep everything as "OK" as the universe will allow. This is the portrait of a regular family. When tragedy strikes, the grief is shared, and there are no heroes to turn to in a time of domestic crisis.
The Music - Haunting, brooding, EVIL, thunderous, dread-soaked, and all done with a saxophone (odd but unique sound). Amazing job done by Colin Stetson.
Supernatural Ending - I can understand why some do not like the ending. Some might say that the mental illness theme could have been utilized and the film would be more effective, and I would have to disagree. This film is a nightmare in that what people may think is mental sickness giving them a skewed view on the world, is actually a hellish force conducting their every move; premeditated and motivated by the forces of evil. The treehouse,..my God, the treehouse, was just dripping with pure evil. We have a statue with Charlie's decapitated head, corpses bent to appear like they are bowing before it, the chants of "HAIL PAIMON!" the naked people in the woods, creepy and unsettling to the point where you almost have to laugh.
In summary, I LOVED HEREDITARY and I believe it will go down in history as one of the greatest horror films ever made.