Director
Ari Aster
(Feature film debut)

Stars
Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro and Ann Dowd

Yes, my fellow horror film enthusiasts, HEREDITARY is finally here. The film whose trailer was inadvertently shown to horrified PETER RABBIT audience members in Innaloo, Western Australia. The horror movie that has been the subject of much hype right from its Sundance premier in January to this very day where, one way or another, many critics have labelled it as one of the greatest and scariest horror flicks in recent years.

Time now to shred that hype and set the record straight! HEREDITARY is the master of deception more than it is the masterpiece many are making it out to be. As for being scary, I’ve been more frightened by what my bathroom mirror reflection has shown me first thing in the morning than anything experienced in this! Though guaranteed to rip you off in the scares department, one area that HEREDITARY certainly offers value for money is in its story. In fact, should you be seeing this rather lengthy, mysterious and supernatural domestic drama, it is best to attend with that exact mindset.

All happenings of the supernatural phenomena can be traced back to the recently deceased and very secretive mother of Annie Graham (Toni Collette). Though Annie’s mother is gone, she isn’t really and she’s left behind several signs and artefacts that will both guide and terrorise Annie, her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), son Peter (Alex Wolff) and daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) to her legacy. 

Loosely inspired by writer & director Ari Aster’s own family’s experiences with particular themes explored in his movie, HEREDITARY is an ambitious film that falls under the weight of its own lofty expectations and epitomises the phrase “what goes up, must come down.”

Making this eventual outcome even more disappointing is the fact that earlier on, HEREDITARY superbly executes and effortlessly achieves exactly what it intends to. Possible clues behind its growing mysteriousness appear to be strategically arranged and an endless number of questions are studiously provoked from the viewer. The intrinsically formed creative intellect and originality used to construct the tantalising (and comically unnerving) mystery at play in HEREDITARY are all reminiscent of last year’s ingenious mystery/thriller, GET OUT, only with the promise of an even more terrifying climax and unpredictable revelations soon to follow. Instead and by the end, HEREDITARY more resembles and sparks reactions similar to those experienced in Darren Aronovsky’s MOTHER!

Ari Aster’s screenplay is abundant with ideas and his film does have some high quality fittings, but HEREDITARY’s separate parts don’t amalgamate into the coherent and consistent whole that we deserve it to be. Too often it has succumbed to committing a fright tactic that is less convincing and there are some noticeable inconsistencies that lessen its credibility. As patience is tested and frustrations mount at varying times during the disarraying and decaying second half of HEREDITARY, it is features such as the exquisite camerawork, its highly effective music score and an impressive job of the sound mixing that will all play a large part in keeping viewers as engrossed as possible. But maybe not to the same significant extent as the gripping and very brave performance from the terrific Toni Collette and the outstanding feature film acting debut from her young co-star, Milly Shapiro (pictured below).

Despite a decent three star rating from me, HEREDITARY is (so far) the greatest let down of 2018.

3 stars

Viewer Discretion
MA15+ (Strong horror themes)

Trailer
HEREDITARY

Moviedoc thanks Studiocanal for the invite to the screening of this film

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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