Hereditary is one of the best horror movies of the last decade and probably my favorite horror movie from studio, A24! The movie is so good that I do not want to spoil anything for you and just tell you to go and watch it if you have not already seen it! It has a tremendous performance from Toni Collette (Velvet Buzzsaw, Knives Out, Nightmare Alley), I would go as far as to say as a career-defining performance, and for someone that has so many great acting credits to her name, that is saying a lot!
How to Download Hereditary
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also a newer film by Ari Aster – Beau Is Afraid.
The Movie Review
Talking about Hereditary is really hard as I do not want to spoil anything for those who have not seen the movie! The basics of what is going on here are that we have the Graham family which consists of the mother, Annie, father, Steve, and kids, 16-year-old Peter and 13-year-old Charlie.
Annie had a very challenging relationship with her mother for many years, that was until her daughter Charlie was born and her mother became much closer and an important part of her life. Charlie and the grandmother have a very special bond. At first, they seem like a relatively “normal” American family.
However, when Annie’s mother dies and they go to her funeral, they are really surprised by how many people have shown up. I love this funeral scene as there is just something so eerie and unsettling about many of the people who are there. Writer/director Ari Aster really is a master of unsettling suspense, this was actually his theatrical debut, and what a way to announce your presence on the horror scene.
As the family deal with the death of Annie’s mom, they are hit with an even worse tragedy and it is here that things start to go to hell for the Graham family. Weird stuff starts to happen and more and more revelations come to light about the grandmother and it all builds up to a truly shocking and horrific ending that will stick with you for a few days. I remember seeing this in the theatre and when those credits rolled, I was just kind of stunned by what I had seen.
The core performances in Hereditary are just amazing. I already talked about Toni Collette, but the daughter, Milly Shapiro, and her brother played by Alex Wolff both deliver phenomenal and believable performances. Annie’s husband, Steve is played by Gabriel Byrne who also is great in this movie.
Even though this movie only came out a few years ago, I have probably already seen it five times. It is one of those movies where the first few times I watched it, I picked up on more things or noticed little details in the background and so on. It makes it such a fun movie to rewatch.
Now, I will say that I have heard some people say that these A24 horror movies are pretentious, and to a degree, I can kind of agree with that. However, I think Hereditary is truly something special. It manages to be scary without just hitting you with jump scares, it gets under your skin and just makes you feel very uneasy through most of the movie and even once it is done!
