Hereditary is an interesting film that any horror fan needs to see. I think my expectations were set a little too high when people started calling it the new Exorcist. In my opinion, it’s not even remotely close to The Exorcist or The Exorcist III in terms of scares or quality of storytelling. For me, Hereditary was an interesting occult tale that has more in common with The Ninth Gate than with anything it’s currently being compared to. And that’s actually great, because I adore The Ninth Gate, and I enjoyed Hereditary quite a bit.
The thing is, this is one of those movies that you really want to go into with almost no information, and just let the story unfold. And to be clear, it unfolds very, very slowly. But along the way, the audience is treated to some fantastic, disturbing moments of horror, which stand out even more because of the film’s pace. That being said, it’s easily 30-40 minutes too long, and it suffers greatly for that. The other thing it suffers from is that the trailer did the move a disservice. It suggests there is some Sixth Sense-like twist behind everything, when in fact the story plays out in a pretty straightforward way.
But when you combine the handful of great build-up moments with the incredible last fifteen to twenty minutes, they make Hereditary a must-see movie. Most horror flicks these days don’t have any moments that truly stick with you afterwards, and this movie has several. And one thing that has not been overhyped about this film is Toni Collette’s performance–she is superb.
Just keep your expectations reasonable, and Hereditary will be a pleasantly terrifying surprise.
Victoria Nations
I came out of Hereditary exhausted. I realized that the scares, when they came, actually were moments of relief. It’s relentless otherwise, and the real world horrors are haunting.
I think I may have loved Hereditary, but it’s a harsh, painful love. Still love, though.