One of the better ones of recent years

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2018)

Now look, how many "horrorfilms" have come out in recent years that were just bad? So many flicks are made purely for money, and most of them are only aimed at light hearted teenagers. Don't even get me started on the PG-13 horrormovies... With Hereditary, I can say that finally we have ourselves a cast and crew who were really trying to give us something legitimately scary and disturbing. However just because someone wants it, that doesn't mean it actually happens in the same way. I am VERY pleased to tell you that Hereditary for the most part REALLY delivers as a class horrormovie.
Unlike most "horrormovies" that have come out recently, this one actually has a good story with interesting characters, a good narative and another purpose besides making a lot of money. During the whole movie there's this very unsettling atmosphere, with some very good scares and a truly disturbing finale. The acting is also very good, especially the protagonist really shines in this movie.
Now I do have to say that the pacing isn't always as good as it should be. The whole movie in general has a pretty medium to slow pace. It really takes its time to set up the characters and story (which is good!), however it takes too long before the plot really kicks in. The horrorgenre is (of course) paranormal activity, because that's the only genre they can make apparently, but it takes a really long time before the paranormal activity is introduced. Given there are some tense scenes and unexpected twists here and there, but the movie isn't really about those things, it's about the characters and how they deal with the situation. As a filmlover this was really nice to see, but people who only go to see these movies for the scares and don't really care about a good story will be dissapointed I think. About those scares...FINALLY a horrormovie that doesn't rely on jumpscares, FINALLY!
Guys, this is definitely a horrormovie to check out. It has been given an immense amount of popularity, but it's for a reason. It has a good story, well written characters, some very good scares that actually work and the acting is splendid! The pacing is a bit slow and the plot really takes its time to get introduced, but that is all forgiven for a very tense and scary finale that kind of reminded me of the finale from The Vvitch (2015).
It's not THE scariest film out there, but it's definitely one of the best of recent years.
I give it a solid 7.7/10