Not very good

Rating: 5/10 (24 July 2018)

Hereditary is the first film I have ever watched in the cinema all by myself. I have been following its IMDB rating constantly, and finally I have decided to go see it. I was casually asking my friends if they want to go and see it with me, but no one seemed particularly interested so I gave up on the idea. Two days ago, after I came home I decided to go and see it all by myself. I went to the cinema, bought a large cup of coffee, took a seat in the highest row and watched Hereditary in late night viewing. After I have finished the film, I was feeling very good about myself and took the decision to do this activity more often. Hereditary is a conclusive proof of how the final of a film can destroy everything that the director has built. I will never decide to watch a film based on its IMDB's point. I start to believe that there is a certain community who deliberately boost the reputation of a bad film. I think soon enough this will damage the IMDB's reputation. Hereditary is not necessarily a bad film, but it doesn't deserve the point it has. Right now, it has 7.6 points. I wouldn't give this film more than 5. When it ended, everyone in the cinema hall was talking in disappointment.
Some families are not meant to be happy. This is the story of one of those families. Graham family consists of Annie Graham (Toni Collette), Steve Graham (Gabriel Byrne), Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). They live in an isolated house on their own. The film opens with family attending Annie's mother's funeral. In the eulogy, Annie explains her relationship with her mother, mentions about her mother's complete isolation in the last moments of her life. Annie states that during her growing up, her family suffered from a series of mental illnesses which end up in their deaths. At first, Graham family, especially Annie, seems to be normal except for the 13-year-old Charlie. Charlie and her grandmother had a special relationship, and Charlie has a tough time accepting the fact that her grandmother is dead. Raised mostly by her grandmother, looking at the weird behaviors of Charlie, I understand the weird life of the grandmother. Released on January 21, 2018 in Sundance Film Festival, and June 8, 2018 in United States, Hereditary is written and directed by Ari Aster. With its 127 minutes runtime, it is Ari Aster's directorial debut.
Annie meets a woman in a support group. This woman invites Annie to her house to perform a séance to communicate with her death grandson. Up until this point, everything seems to be normal in the Graham family. The strange occurrences happening in the family are relatively logical. Death of Charlie or the robbed grave of the grandmother seem to be extreme things, but not illogical. After the séance, Hereditary slowly dives into supernatural incidents that reveal the secret of the family, but connection of the story with its final destroyed everything the director has built until that point. I can't imagine a worse ending for such an interesting story. Director uses thriller genre to its limits. She manages to keep audience alert and curious. During the film, against the classic expectations of a horror film, nothing happens when they are expected to happen. This film shows us that, the director really knows thriller genre. She uses its power to the limits. She doesn't use sound or special effects to make you jump. She uses the atmosphere as if something will happen soon. This is how thriller genre should be. That's why Hereditary is more of a thriller/horror film.
The atmosphere, camera and music are the strongest points of the film. These components are very important when it comes to horror. Director uses them for her advantage. If the story could have kept up with these components, we would be seeing a really good horror film. I couldn't believe how such an interesting story got destroyed with the most senseless final possible. It fails big time to combine the story with its ending. I get the feeling that she brings the story until the end and gets stuck there. Despite the performance of her career, even Toni Collette couldn't save the film. I believe Ani Aster is going to be a successful director, but in Hereditary I have understood once more, how important experience is when it comes to directing. In my opinion her lack of experience destroyed a promising film.