Director – Ari Aster (The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, Basically)
Starring – Alex Wolff (My Friend Dahmer, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Gabriel Byrne (Vampire Academy, Marco Polo), and Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, Fright Night)
Release Date – 2018
Rating – 2.5/5
A24 is a company that has made a name for itself the last few years. Not only in horror but in several other genres. Sure, they have released a few duds here and there but several of their films were top notch. Just off the top of my head I recall their release of Swiss Army Man, The VVitch, Green Room, and It Comes at Night.
Several months back A24 released Hereditary in theaters and the film seemed to go over well with horror and movie fans a like. Sadly, I had to miss the theatrical showings but I was lucky enough to a copy of the Ultra 4K release of the film to review. Was the film as good as everyone had said?
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a family that recently lost their grandma. She was a recluse of sorts and their whole family had dealt with mental illness resulting in their death. The grandmother’s daughter is struggling with her death because they had a broken relationship but things take a dark turn when her grave is disturbed and her body was taken.
Over time they try to cope with her lose and work with police to retrieve the body. One night her grandson Peter takes his sister Charlie to a party where she has an allergic reaction to cake resulting in her throat swelling shut. He tries to take her to the hospital but has an accident and Charlie is decapitated. Her death begins a series of events where they learn their grandmother’s dark secret. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one with high hopes and found myself struggling to finish it. The movie was not what I was expecting and was a rough one to finish. I have no idea what everyone else saw but it couldn’t be the same movie I had to sit through.
The acting in this one is great. The entire cast did a phenomenal job in their performances and did something great with their characters. With that being said, Alex Wolff is the real star of the film. The trailer and artwork makes you think he is a secondary character, which is true until the 30 or 40 minutes mark and then he takes center stage. He did a fantastic job and I cant wait to see where his career goes from here.
The story for this one is a slow burner but fails to gain any traction. Fans of The VVitch know what a slow moving film is like that can still be effective but Hereditary is so dull and bland that the viewer may find themselves falling asleep like I did. It took me three viewings to finish the film in it’s entirety. The writing and pacing is all wrong.
Finally, it isn’t a bloody masterpiece like you gorehounds enjoy but there is a few gags that are amazing. The effects are top notch and the scenes are fucking gruesome. Well worth it for you sick fucks. Overall, Hereditary has a great cast and superb effects but they fail to pull together an uninteresting story. Sadly, this is not one I can recommend.
