I have waited a long time to watch ‘Hereditary’ which stars the talented Toni Collette, who seems to knock her roles in horror movies out of the park each and every time, and who made her mark on the horror world in ‘The Sixth Sense’.
The film tells the story of “when the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.”
If you aren’t interested in mild spoilers, I suggest not reading beyond this point, just scroll down to get the official Fright Nerd rating.
The film immediately sets in a tone that is undeniably creepy throughout the film, which is accentuated brilliantly by Charlie (Milly Shapiro) who leads you to believe that there is something off with her, and in a very evil way, as she does strange things, such as cutting a dead birds head off, seems detached, and makes an odd clicking noise with her mouth.
It kicks off with Annie (Collette) delivering a eulogy at her mother’s funeral, noting how she had a strenuous relationship with her mother, something that is pointed out throughout the movie. During the eulogy, Annie describes the tough life her mother had, noting the suicide of her brother who claimed their mother was trying to put people inside of him, among other tragedies.
Oddly enough, Annie would only allow her mother to get close to her daughter Charlie, which is explained as the movie plays out.
Tragedy continues to bare down stress on the family, as the unexpected death of Charlie, who is decapitated while sticking her head out the car window while her brother Peter (Alex Wolff) is rushing her to the hospital following an allergic reaction, shocks the path of the movie.
The movie then starts to weave a much deeper, darker story, and puts the audience in the position of questioning the mental state of Annie, as we have the determine if what is going on in their lives is reality, or is it a mental breakdown.
More mysteries are unraveled, adding deeper layers of intrigue to the story, when Annie meets Joan (Ann Dowd) at grief counseling sessions.
Genuinely creepy, and with scares that are executed with precision, and within the flow and tone of the movie, make Hereditary one of the best films of 2018 and a shining example of the extraordinary work that Collette delivers on screen.
