Terrifyingly strange; even better once you "get" the ending upon Viewing #2

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2019)

The declaration that William Friedkin's Exorcist has "finally" met its bone-chilling match is a curiously frequent one (I believe people even said it of Veronica). It is always to be taken with a grain of salt, lest you end up disappointed by such new universal favorites as Hereditary. Possibly. Maybe not.
I shall phrase it differently but similarly: this is one of the most smartly crafted, effective, well-acted and deeply unsettling horror films of recent times (I would even urge you to proceed through this review with caution, despite it being light on plot details, because it's just that original and unpredictable). One that moves you in ways far more lasting than a startling noise (especially if this noise is not produced in-universe and was added in post using loud violin sound effects) or some form of shouting ghost.
But a horror film it is not. So insists Ari Aster, who says he was making a tragedy that becomes a horrible nightmare. True enough, it begins with a loss within the Graham family. The mother, a miniature designer named Annie (Toni Collette), is struck particularly hard. The son, Peter (Alex Wolff), has trouble focusing in school, not only due to his growing fascination with the female form. The daughter, Charlie (Milly Shapiro), begins behaving strangely and seeing unnatural things. The father, Steve (Gabriel Byrne), just wants everyone to be alright, as fathers do.
As time moves on, the family is met by an even greater disaster, and soon secrets from the past reveal themselves. Annie befriends Joan (Ann Dowd), who may know how to contact the other side, so she claims.
The performers I've mentioned do a resplendent job (although Alex Wolff, brother of the also laughable Death Note kid, has some corny moments), creating a believably damaged family and layered humans, and the way it builds towards its unforseeably insane climax is astounding in the expertise it displays. But Aster has not directed a full-length film before this one. With this in mind, it is difficult not to love the film a bit more.
Also immaculate is the cinematography, production design and editing. One early shot, that moves into the room of a house miniature and promptly becomes the set for one of the scenes, reminded me of the also nightmarish Inland Empire. There are implications to it, for certain and I look forward to the think-pieces. I should mention the terrific music by Colin Stetson.
The film does adhere to some of the modern-day guidelines of horror filmmaking, unfortunately (I remember one jump-scare, albeit an appropriate and effective one), but its achievements are still considerable! I hereby give Hereditary an 8 and compel you to see it for (and by) yourself. For reasons I do not care to disclose, this is a movie I needed to see right now.
In a time of remakes and soft reboots, every so often a terrifyingly strange gem appears and even gets to rise to prominence - something that especially hits the spot after you've seen rubbish like Jurassic World 2. Perhaps we're looking at another Oscar nominee, now that Get Out has normalized horror at the Oscars (although both films are indeed more than simply horror; sometimes comedic, even). I hope this film is nevertheless seen by many and that they do not read too much about it beforehand. Not even this.