Not perfect but a breath of fresh air

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2019)

Wow. What an impressive directorial debut from Ari Aster. I had no notion of where the film was going for at least the first half and it kept my attention throughout, even though the pacing is much slower than a typical horror film. As a side note, I wouldn't consider this as a horror film but, rather, a thriller because I barely found it scary. I don't consider this a criticism, just something to bear in mind.
The real joy of this film is connecting the dots after the big reveal and there's so much hidden throughout the film to keep one entertained during the second watch. I don't want to come off as elitist, but it seems clear from some criticisms that many people genuinely don't understand what happened in this film, whether because it was too subtle or they weren't paying attention. This is a shame because I'd like to encourage films that don't pander to inattentive audiences. I found the reveal to be a bit heavy-handed but that clearly wasn't enough for those people. I hope these reviews will be ignored and films will continue to be made that aren't caste from the same old, wornout, Hollywood mould. I'm not saying people are wrong to dislike this film but that some people are verifiably wrong in some specific criticisms.
Tony Collette's performance was, as usual, transcending. I've seen some claim she was 'overacting' but, honestly, how would you expect her character to act in her extreme circumstance and history of mental illness (another detail subtly revealed in the film)? I suppose she should've been chilling out with a cup of tea? The supporting actors were also very capable, except for Alex Wolff. He can pull off the pothead son with ease and even act sad and afraid, but his heaving sobs sounded ridiculous.
Only one plot point irked me, which (without giving anything away) involved a bizarre decision Annie made as a mother regarding her daughter. My only other criticism is the CG flies, which looked abysmal and completely ruined my immersion in the film. They looked like amorphous black blobs, some of which seemed to be crawling over the camera lens. I guess it comes with the low budget, but I'd like to see them remastered. Some other effects were also behind the times, but the flies were the worst offenders.
I'm looking forward to Aster's next feature film. Ignore the haters and give it a watch.