Hereditary- Proof that real life is more horrifying than the supernatural.

Movie Review- Hereditary (2018)

Not to say that the movie peaks in the first 30 minutes, but you can't help but feel that the concluding hour and thirty seven minutes of Hereditary are only there to give you time to think how amazing the first act is. The peak of the movie, that believe me you will know exactly which scene I mean as soon as you've seen it, is a phenomenal movie going experience. Never have I sat open mouthed, shocked and impressed at the audacity of a movie to quite the extent as I did when watching this film. It is most certainly worth the price of the ticket just to see your reaction, as well as the price of the next couple of times watching as you drag your friends to see their reaction.

The tense build up and the horrifying pay off marry together and leave chills all over your body. But, what is most shocking for this supernatural horror is the fact that its most horrifying scene has no supernatural elements in sight: no ghosts/ghouls, no possessed people, no witchcraft. Everything that occurs in the scene could happen in real life; the accumulation of panicked mistakes and problematic decisions is exceedingly terrifying. It is this fact that makes the last two thirds of the movie seem to splutter to the end. Rather than realising the movie's strength in chilling realism, it seems to chuck every supernatural trope, convention and trait at the wall thus leaving a very bland ending. For entertainment, you will find yourself playing a game of supernatural bingo as you go through and tick off every boring trope you've seen a plethora of times before. A seance leading to cheap jump scares as an object moves across the room, tick. Spirits possessing characters and thus causing them to fly around the room, tick. Convoluted demon back stories that are meant to be creepy but come across as silly, tick. BINGO- now collect your prize of deep disappointment as you remember how good the movie could have been.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is gorgeous, with the transitions between the miniature art causing really interesting imagery. In addition, Toni Colette puts in a stellar performance that deserves an immense amount of praise for its versatility in restraint and extravagance. But, it is abundantly clear that if the movie stopped relying on overused supernatural crutches and toned down the ending, a scene which leaned to the side of comedy for how ridiculously over the top the supernatural elements are, then the positives of the movie would feel less like wasted opportunities.