Calling this a "horror" movie is accurate, but doesn't quite capture it - It's emotional terrorism as a horror film

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2018)

It's quite rare to see a movie as deeply and profoundly disturbing as this one. It calls to mind William Friedkin's lesser-known movie, "Bug." "Bug" had an interesting history - it was marketed as a horror film, but only because (I think) studios didn't have any other way of categorizing it and marketing it for the masses. Like this movie, it left me nearly speechless after it was over and kept replaying through my mind for days.
Also like "Bug," "Hereditary" doesn't primarily get the fuel for it's utterly disturbing qualities from the horror elements. The primary fuel - the stuff that will haunt you for days after you see it - it comes from this film's exploration of a family rotting away in front of us due to unrelenting tragedy and mental illness.
Let's not mince words though - the horror elements are there in this film, and in a big way, including some moments of disturbing gore. Primarily (and in my view, fortunately), the director Ari Aster seems to prefer the "Japanese style" in his scares - things that are lurking in the shadows, just barely visible, and a huge emphasis on setting emotional tone and building suspense and tension. But - more than anything, the truly horrific elements of this film lie in their laserlike focus on the psychological. A scene that has not left me is the one where Charlie sits in his car after accidentally decapitating his sister, and the camera just lingers, watching the trauma unfold on his face, for what seems like an eternity of minutes..
Throughout this movie, I had the experience of being repeatedly, psychologically battered and assaulted as the movie movies through to it's insane climax. In short, to sum up - "Hereditary" is cinematic emotional terrorism at it's finest, dressed up as a "horror" film. If you have a strong stomach and no pre-existing psychiatric issues, see this film. Don't blame me for what results.