It'll leave you haunted well after you leave the theater

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2018)

You may have heard that this is the scariest movie since The Exorcist or that certain images are upsetting or that it will haunt you for an uncomfortably long time. None of that is hyperbole.
It's all true.
Hereditary builds slowly, patiently. It starts as a family drama circled by an aura of mystery about what has been passed down through their lineage. At first it seems to be movie about mental illness, then the movie is gradually revealed to be something else. And that something else is most horrifying movie in many, many years.
The grandmother of a family has just died. Her adult daughter (Toni Collette), son-in-law and two grandchildren have varying reactions to her death. Grandma was a manipulative, mettlesome and disturbed woman, who had been largely estranged from the family. The only family member close to her was her granddaughter.
After the grandmother's passing, strange occurrences take place. The grieving daughter's sleepwalking returns. The granddaughter has dark visions. So does the grandson. Then something tragic happens, and then everything escalates. The second half of the movie is pure nightmare fuel.
I won't go into any further detail because the mystery and uncertainty of the plot is integral to the rising eerie vibe that engulfs this movie. The audience learns as the characters do, peeling back layers to uncover disturbing secrets buried beneath the surface.
I can't say enough good things about the acting. Toni Collette deserves an Oscar nomination, Milly Shapiro hits a homerun in her film debut and Alex Wolff does laudable work as well.
Director Ari Aster is a master at capturing emotion of the characters and enforcing those emotions on the audience. We don't just see their confusion and fear-we feel it.
He brilliant constructs frames that leave something shadowy, possibly sinister, lurking in the corner. We think we see it but aren't certain. That uncertainty is unnerving. I imagine most of us will find ourselves checking the corners of our own homes for some time after witnessing this film. It imprints a haunting feeling that's tough to shake.
Aster's willingness to let scenes linger allows his performers to reach the proper emotional levels. Collette and Shapiro are incredible at this. They emote so much with mere facial expressions. In many instances, their reactions are as chilling as the images themselves.
This is a horror movie with very few jump scares. Instead, it builds skin-crawling discomfort through eerie music, creepy and ambiguous images, and devastating scares delivered at our most vulnerable moments.
If you scare easily, do NOT watch this movie. It will haunt your dreams and waking hours for quite a while. If you like scary movies, this is an absolute must see. Just know that you're in for something disturbing. You've been warned.