It's quite easy to say that this week's film 'Hereditary' will be one of the most divisive horror films of all time. Studio A24 is no stranger to these types of genre pictures, having also released 'The Witch' and 'It Comes at Night' which also heavily divided audiences with their bizarre imagery and vague storytelling. All three films also share high praise from critics and most horror fans who have seen them and I am here to say that I am among them. This film is definitely not for everyone but it doesn't care if you do and really it doesn't need to have wide appeal to work as a film and 'Hereditary' does work. It gives your brain such a barrage of different signals that you won't know what to think and that's where it's true horror elements lie. From the opening shot, it sets up a sense of discomfort that builds into a mix of slow boiling tension, shocking violence, and yes the occasional jump scare. It all leads into an unbelievable climax you just have to see for yourself.
It's hard to review a film like this when talking about the storyline too much can lead to spoiling the entire thing, and this is one film you don't want to know anything about going into that dark auditorium. I saw one trailer for it and even then, I wish I couldn't have seen a single thing because while some things were shown off even in the quickest teaser trailer, you still won't believe the kind of direction the film goes in. 'Hereditary' is the product of a first time director who in just 2 hours shows his natural talent for filmmaking. Every single shot of this film is set up with such precision and everything is deliberate and with purpose, even if it's not all on the surface. Even seemingly throw away dialogue early on in the film will end up adding little pieces to the overall puzzle and after leaving and giving the overall film a good think, these little details make me love it even more.
The casting here is completely perfect and everybody gets their chance to shine, with Toni Collette giving her best performance yet and to deny her even a nomination would be criminal. While Gabriel Byrne doesn't have nearly as much screen time you can see his talents shine through as well as his character struggles with the ever-increasing burden being laid on his shoulders. The young cast does very well here too and hopefully we'll see these two in more films to come. 'Hereditary' is the biggest surprise I have seen in theaters this year and is easily one of the best genre films in a while. It's slower pace and overall strange atmosphere will drive away the casual horror or film fan, but for those of you who like something different and with some style to go with it, then check this out as soon as possible.
9/10
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