So close & yet so far...

Rating: 7/10 (6 April 2019)

Hereditary came so close to being a perfect movie - it's such a shame the film fell apart during the third & final act - classic example of how the ending can either make or break a story.
The first two thirds are truly faultless - a masterclass in effective editing especially - laden with genuinely career best performances from Toni Collette & Alex Wolff, both of whom were deserving of Oscar nominations for their portrayals of their characters - being magnetic on screen, stealing every one either by themselves or together.
Ari Aster managed to avoid making Hereditary like every other horror movie & instead found a unique, original way of telling his dark tale, creating uncomfortable, shocking & disturbing sequences which felt refreshingly new & inventive (shot equally as impressively by cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski) - which is why I was so disgruntled when he inserted a clichÃ©d horror movie conclusion to the rest of his phenomenal script - when it was deserving of such a better ending. What's more is he showcased his clear ability to be able to avoid falling into those traps with the first two acts so it's perplexing why he felt unable to while penning the third. If anything, it's just lazy...
Because of this, the film falls flat on its face at the final hurdle & that's what stops me from giving it a 10 / 10 rating.