HEREDITARY (2018) Is it really ALL that? Full spoiler free review here!

Toni Collette, powerful with just a look. Click for trailer.

This may be the toughest review I have ever written which makes sense because my processing of this film was agonizingly split. I don't believe in general statements but sometimes they can be a sufficient in getting across the gist of it. Here it is: I did NOT love this movie, but I liked aspects of it very much. There it is. You see before I watched (and I probably was one of the last to do so) I read a bevvy of reviews and thoughts about it. The consensus was a very divided camp. I see why now.

Dysfunctional family? Um no, they are VERY functional!

Hereditary's story is a tad misleading. Starting with a funeral for the grandmother and matriarch of the clan, who dabbled in things not so nice we are painted a grim picture of a family steeped in tragedy. Thus despite some supernatural flicker and hallucinatory action this truly is a tale of tragedy. The supernatural bleeds into the psychological as the twisted fate of the characters unravels. Despite great acting, superb camera work and a quiet intensity that gnaws like a parasite there was a disconnect for me. Aside from some incredible scenes, deep drama, and one horrific moment I was never full drawn in.

What...just...happened?

All four of the leads in this film did an outstanding job and made a muddled affair something quite enjoyable by becoming their respective characters. Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro and Alex Wolff turn in A-performances but it is Toni Collette the creative mom who carry's the weight of the world on her shoulders and feels every bit of her family's pain and agony who is the real standout here. It's almost as if the role was written for her. First time director Ari Aster nailed a lot on his first outing, he just didn't bring it all the way home.

The film quality in Hereditary is perfectly suited to it's depressing subject matter. bleak and slightly washed out but crisp and sharp at the same time. There is a picture painted here and it is an almost art gallery of horror, but in very very broad strokes.

For me though this was a rough affair. Drawn out scenes lingering too long and worse a very disjointed telling. Major story points seem to be skipped and others completely jumped over. Almost a patchwork really, a vignette of disturbing scenes and images interspersed with a cold hard reality. A Cure for Wellness followed this formula to an extent but in that films everything tied together a bit better. I almost felt like I was at an art gallery viewing paintings in story succession that every so often made no sense yet drove on with the story anyway to a conclusion that was inevitable if not surprising. For a first effort the director tried to make a statement and I get it, I just didn't stay absorbed in it other than in stop and start moments.

I must wrap up by saying I do think it was a very good, solid effort that merely needed some polish in place of the scotch tape. Moreover, the scenes are very powerful (one jaw dropping, no pun intended) and what I like most is that films like this are pushing and stretching the boundaries of horror. That's always a good thing. Remember, I am a horror fan first, reviewing is just something I do. By the end, was I entertained? Did I love it? Hate it? In this case it is complicated because I didn't love it but still have fondness for many aspects of it, I merely cannot shake the disconnect I have with the film overall. You should view it, and maybe I should again as well.

3.5/5