Unsettling But Far From "Scary"

Rating: 7/10 (21 June 2018)

After much scrutiny came down on A24 for releasing the 'misleading" 'It Comes Out at Night' last year, another critically acclaimed horror film hit theaters, 'Hereditary'. This one, about an extremely unlucky or perhaps cursed family, which life unravels for after the grandmother passes away. In many ways, Hereditary is a strikingly bold drama with fantastic performances. However, in others, it's a disappointingly un-scary horror. I fall somewhere in between these two fronts. The performances are definitely something to behold, particularly Toni Collette, who very well may have given an Oscar worthy turn as a loving but troubled mother of two, as well as Alex Wolff's haunting turn as her son. This movie contains perhaps a few of the most unsettling things I have ever seen on screen, including a prolonged scene involving a car and Alex Wolff that has to be the most impressive scene without any dialogue I've seen in 2018. But with all that said, the movie turns into something in the 3rd act that I hoped the film was going to avoid but ended up falling right into. Of course, a director and writer's vision should go where they want it to go, and A24 has always done a great job of providing the filmmakers with the path to execute their specific vision. But I was really wanting the film to go a certain way, and when it didn't and took (in my opinion, a more predictable and cliched approach), I was disappointed. Sometimes all it takes is a film to separate from your expectations for it to bum you out. Hereditary is a well-made film with some real horror and Oscar worthy performances, but it's moreso a drama that dips into cliched horror towards the end of the movie. I hate comparing two completely different movies, but The Witch is a far better option.
7.0/10