Written and Directed by: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd
I will forewarn that this will be my shortest review to date. I highly suggest this creep fest thrill ride and to go into it knowing nothing! But with that being said, I’ll give you a tad bit of knowledge on A24’s Hereditary.
Plot
The film starts with the Graham Family preparing for the funeral of Annie Graham’s mother. At the funeral, Annie reads a eulogy as the film cuts between Charlie Graham, the clearly socially awkward daughter of Annie, drawing a woman’s face with tears. Annie’s son, Peter is clearly detached from the whole situation while Steve, Annie’s husband, is the glue keeping the family together. From there Charlie and Annie discuss what will happen to Charlie when Annie dies. From the moment this is said, the tension and creep factor builds till the audience feels like they can’t breathe.
Characters
Annie Graham, played by Toni Collette, is very underutilized at first. However, once the first act ends, the movie becomes completely her film. Almost all the scenes are told through her eyes, and when she isn’t on screen, she still steals the show.
Milly Shapiro is the very off-putting Charlie Graham. The film often uses the tag line “Children can be a blessing or a curse” and it’s a very blurred line where Charlie lies in Hereditary. Gabriel Byrne is Steve Graham. He is the connective tissue who treats Charlie with unbiased love and tries to mend the clearly off relationship between Annie and her son Peter.
Peter is played by Alex Wolff, and he is the stereotypical movie wild child. He smokes pot and dozes off in class. This cast collectively has its strong moments, but Ann Dowd as Joan is the supporting actress that amps up the film’s creep factor. But I’ve already said too much. Again I highly recommend this movie.
The trailer doesn’t give much away, but I recommend not watching the movie trailer till after you see Hereditary. This movie you definitely need to keep your eyes peeled for clues though.
Overall
Hereditary truly was my favorite horror, and strong contestant for film in general, of the year. The film is clearly an analogy for growing pains in a family and mental sanity. Hereditary manages to keep you on the edge of your seat without any cheesy jump scares. The tension and acting is also at such a high caliber, it leaves fans of horror movies and non horror fans with pure shock and enjoyment.
