**** out of ****
Rated R
(for horror violence, disturbing images, strong language, drug use and brief graphic nudity)
Released: June 8, 2018
Runtime: 127 minutes
Directed by: Ari Aster
Starring: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd
(You can listen to Charles Elmore, Adam Palmer and I discuss Hereditary on Episode 8 of “The Bad and the Beautiful” podcast)
My review of Hereditary, for The Tulsa Voice. The debut feature from writer/director Ari Aster, it’s a horror film of deep — and deeply disturbing — substance.
Toni Collette, in an award-worthy performance, stars in this parable of dark spirituality about “the insidious devastation that’s left in the wake of family dysfunction, toxic relationships, the repression of trauma, and how each repeats itself across generations.”
Hereditary is a “blood-curdling gauntlet for us to endure” that simultaneously “feels like an exorcising catharsis for its director.” As well-made a film as any so far this year, yet it will also seriously mess with you. Gruesome and unnerving, it’s not for the faint of anything (heart, mind, spirit, or otherwise).
To read my full review, click here.
Close your eyes… say your prayers… sleep if you can! ‘Rosemary’s baby'(1968) meets ‘susperia'(1977) meets ‘the haunting'(1963) meets ‘don’t look now'(1973)… ‘Hereditary'(2018) is a psycho-supernatural chiller that starts out completely off the wall and keeps going from there. Ranking with ‘paranormal activity’, ‘the babadook’ and ‘the witch’, ‘hereditary’ is yet another welcome entry that reaffirms what a great decade for supernatural horror the 2010s has been.
‘Ultimately, it’s a cautionary tale for everyone about the dangers of ignoring your demons and the need to confront them before they kill you.’ – I couldn’t have said it better myself.