‘Hereditary’ is a frightening, deeply disturbing, and evocative piece of horror. The cinematography, pacing, script and soundscape design are all wonderful and work in sync to create bone chilling atmosphere filled with suspense and dread – it is like a pit in your stomach that grows and grows.
Writer and director, Ari Aster, created an unsettling environment for audiences that is goosebumps inducing. ‘Hereditary’ specifically uses isolating cinematography, tense dialogue, and a haunting soundtrack to quietly whispers and foreshadows to the viewer than something horrifying is about to take place.
The cast is fantastic. Each of the characters have their own multi-layered dimensional elements – filled with fears and traumas that unfold throughout the story. The themes of grief and tragedy are conveyed through palpably uncomfortable dialogue that is raw and visceral, especially from Toni Colette and Alex Wolff. The major stand out for me was Toni Collette. She gives a committed performance of a lifetime and personally I think it was the best of her career. She grabbed me and held me my full attention. Her scenes were so authentic especially her big dialogue – with precision and craft she searched for the deepest pain and distress inside herself that manifests on the big screen. She was truly incredible in this film.
Overall, this film is very unnerving, and disturbing and grounds its terror in human emotion. The wide spectrum of emotions ranges from sheer terror and horror to complete hopelessness and sorrow. The movie picks at the human psyche in all the right ways – it can be hard to watch but also impossible to look away. Hands down the best horror films I’ve ever seen. (Re)Watch it this spooky season!