Truly truly the next great horror film

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2019)

I almost want to preface this with "Don't watch the trailer." I went into 'Hereditary' completely blind - I had only heard of the buzz it was getting (stereotypical critic buzzword write-ups like "The New Exorcist," or "Scarier than The Exorcist" or "This generations' Exorcist" - like, WE GET IT, "The Exorcist" was great), and I had also seen the poster, which is vague as hell. The only other insight I had into this movie was from a phone call with a friend of mine, another horror-film fanatic, who said that the trailer depicted a chaotic, insane, terrifying film. That's all the preparation I had for this movie, and ultimately, that's all I needed. Because in the end, I had no clue what I was going into. It's a bold statement to say that this is the best horror film in decades, because not only have there been very great horror films over the last few years - but it's easily there for me (maybe the Conjuring...). It's scary, yes, but there are little to no jump scares - instead, there is some of the most disturbing imagery I have ever seen. There is drama, there is humor, there is campy-B-Movie tropes. Yet, this potluck of a film is perfectly executed. It's remarkably directed, written, performed, shot, and composed. Every arc has a perfect little bow-tie; every reveal or twist is not gimmicky, but rather fulfilling and grandly alters the film before it. I fear that going on about it, or setting any expectations here on out, would be removing you of the setting I had for this - little to nothing. Go in to it blind if you can, and let it wrap you over. One last little thing to even try to explain my love for this movie - I haven't felt this enraptured by a horror film since probably the first time seeing "The Shining." LOOK AT ALL OF THESE BOLD STATEMENTS I AM MAKING, and yet, I honestly feel that this way.