Could have been much better

Rating: 7/10 (17 September 2018)

I am pretty easy to scare, and while I'm not a fan of slasher movies, I do enjoy the more moody, atmospheric, psychological thriller type of horror. Hereditary seemed to fit the bill, and it did start of very promising. First, the funeral, and then a disturbing turn of events. Then things slowed way down. The director relied heavily on music to set the mood. So much so that for a good portion of the scenes, if the music had been different it could have been a drama about a family trying to come to terms in the aftermath of tragedy. I turned to my husband at one point and said that woman needs to get herself into therapy.
As the movie was slowly building up to the climax, most of the things that happened were unsettling and disturbing, but not outright scary. Then in the last 10 or 15 minutes all hell breaks loose. Things escalate and the twist is revealed and all of this information comes fast and out of nowhere. Other reviewers felt the story was not scary, but I disagree. I thought about it a lot over the next few days, and It could have been much more so if the build up was more intense. We should have discovered more clues about the grandmothers secrets in the middle of the movie. I believe another reviewer described the story as undercooked.
The cinematography, special effects and acting were all good. It is worth a rental.