False Advertisement

Rating: 3/10 (19 February 2019)

I have hesitated to watch this until it was rentable. the hype from Sundance and reviewers putting it in their Top Ten Horror Films Of All Time! intrigued me long enough that I made sure not to read any spoiler reviews until I had a chance to see it without knowing too much other than what the trailer shows. The trailer is serious false advertisement though as it shows all the disturbing effects scenes all in one short ad like a greatest hits reel. So here I am for the first time in awhile since shredding the ridiculously hyped Black Swan years ago. One reviewer points out what I also assumed this film was about. A satanic cult story like in the 70s. He describes exactly what the ending was about, but somehow even this doesn't improve the film"s standing at all. I feel it somewhat weakens it in fact. Look up the review that mentions the demon Paimon.
I like Toni Collette, but she did a much better job at being a terrified mother in Krampus, and that film may have been more a silly fun horror, but was in fact more frightening than this drama here. I really wanted to enjoy this with all my might, but as the scenes shown in the trailer unfolded once aver 20 minutes it all seemed out of context with the story that was eventually being told here. There is one shocking scene in which a character you thought was important to the dramaturgy indeed ends up dying. However the aftermath of that revelation is completely lacking in explanation and leads only to disinterest in the eventual outcome. I wouldn't give it a zero as it is well filmed, and manages to build a certain level of dread throughout the first half. Of course it is also vague enough that you can make up your own explanation about what it all means by the end, and I applaud that effort. Unfortunately I didn't care to even pursue any further analysis at the conclusion other than wondering what the filmmakers thought they were doing. There is a similarity to the equally hyped and slow moving The Witch, but I feel that that film actually has a perfect ending, and holds the sense of dread consistently from beginning to end. Like Hereditary it also had many of the scare highlights in the trailer but the payoff of seeing those scenes in the movie was much more consistent
within the context, and the overall story being told, instead of being greatest hits, they were just ingredients.
Sorry, this was long winded, and there's enough reviews on here, but I figure one more opinion from a film fan who loves suspenseful and supernatural horror could't hurt. In the end we are always hoping for more surprises to come in this genre and I appreciate newcomers giving this style of filmmaking new life. So 3 stars for the creepy clucking kid, and the random banging head on desk at school for no reason other than it looks good.