Very Well-Acted but Slightly Erratic Horror Film

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2018)

With its outstanding reviews, strong buzz, and creepily powerful marketing, "Hereditary" has come to theaters with far more buzz than the typical independent horror film. This can be chalked up at least in part to the outstanding track record and marketing efforts of indie distributor A24, whose other films tend to be of great quality. While not quite as great as last year's horror film "It Comes At Night" from them, this is a solid film that has much to commend on its own merits.
It would practically be a crime to spoil this movie for the uninitiated, but all I will say is that the film tells the grim tale of a family struggling with the death of the matriarch (Toni Colette)'s mother. Things start to spiral out of control from there, in ways both expected and unexpected. Right from the first frames, talented first-time director Ari Aster grabs you with an intense and almost oppressive sense of psychological dread and never lets go until the finale. The ability to create such a feeling of dread and doom in a realistic--rather than cheesy or ludicrous--manner is truly commendable. The film's simple music and score is its greatest instrument (no pun intended) in creating such a visceral personal feeling of deep unease. Unfortunately, such score also feels quite repetitive at times which occasionally can dilute its prospective impact late in the film--but it still generally works well. In particular, attempts to create emotional power with the score during the film's more dramatic moments could have been improved. The film's performances are very strong throughout, with a particular emphasis on Toni Colette. Colette nails the role of Annie, an artistic and grieving mother of two, with skillful precision. From her facial expressions to her visceral processing of grief, her performance feels wholly authentic and impactful. The film does feel consistently intense and scary throughout, and credit must be given to Aster for not emphasizing the ultimate tired and lazy horror clichÃ©--the jump scene. (There is only one real jump scene, but it is properly timed to be truly unexpected and quite well-done.)
Despite is positive qualities, "Hereditary" does have some flaws as well. The film's pacing can be a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I truly appreciate Aster's intention to frame the film within the context of a slow-burn, tense family drama to promote the establishment of thoughtful character development and associated thinking. On the other hand, this pacing means that the horror elements often feel a bit rushed near the end. In particular, the film's last ten minutes feel like they are paced outrageously fast--which may, to some degree, reduce the psychological impact of such scenes. Also, while the film contains many original elements, its frantic finale also deploys some rather common and predictable motifs in the horror genre without creating a spin on such elements to differentiate them from other common representations within horror movies. That said, this is a well-made film that fans of the genre will likely appreciate--although it remains to be seen whether mainstream audiences will, as the film may be too slow for much of its runtime for many of them. 7/10