Hereditary Delivers Classic Paranormal Suspense With A Fantastic Performance From Toni Collette

      When it comes to making scary films, most horror films nowadays rely on shock value such as extreme violence and relentless gore to get a reaction from the audience. The horror films of today rely on visuals to do the scaring and creeping out the audience. However, there are some horror films that aim to go deeper than just delivering frightening images but seek to get inside the head of the audience members psychologically. They strive to create narratives and uneven plots that deliberately require the audience to not only think, but put the plot together like pieces of a puzzle. That very much appears to be the case with Hereditary as the film seeks to present itself as a deep psychological thriller, that uses a confusing plot to throw the audience off before pulling the rug from underneath them in the end with moments of pure shock value prior to remind them of the bizarreness of the story. The end result however, is one that proves not to be a bad effort though may ultimately feel as if it deliberately goes over the audiences head at times. What holds the film together, is the fantastic performance of Toni Collette in the films main role along with the movie ultimately being well-crafted. Hereditary presents itself as being a film that's clearly not for everyone, but there's more to appreciate about the film rather than dislike about it.

      The plot for Hereditary centers around the matriarch of a prominent family who dies after suffering several serious mental disorders. Her eldest daughter Annie (Played by Toni Collette), learns of many disturbing family secrets afterwards with the discoveries ultimately becoming overwhelming as both her and her family attempt to escape a terrifying and fate. Hereditary's plot feels like an old-school 1960's or 70's horror film such as Rosemary's Baby, Wicker Man, or The Exorcist mixed with the Paranormal Activity franchise in which everything seems fairly normal on the surface, though the audience senses that something sinister is boiling underneath. The film attempts to replicate that style of classic terror and confusion, while steadily building up both its plot and characters. Hereditary aims hard to give its audience an unusual experience along with not letting them off the hook in regards to trying to decipher the events unfolding on the screen. The films twists and turns are sprinkled throughout the story with the audience feeling their impact when they do arrive. This is a film that relies on the strength of its main cast, as well as a dark atmosphere surrounding them with steady pacing to make the story as effective as it ultimately turns out to be. Hereditary doesn't concern itself with succumbing​ to the regular traditional conventions of a typical horror thriller and aims to be different. It's desire to take what's essentially an old school ghost story and turn it on the audiences head, is a commendable effort that deserves admiration as it does a fairly solid job of doing so.

      One of the films strongest elements is the performances of the main cast. Toni Collette once again shows audiences that she's an extremely talented and underrated actress with her performance being simply fantastic. Collette carries the bulk of the film on her shoulders with her role as miniature artist, Annie Graham. She effectively plays a woman whose shown to be both full of grief and pain, while slowly losing her sanity as she notices strange and unnatural things happening around her family. Gabriel Byrne does well with his role as Annie's husband and psychiatrist Steve Graham. Byrne plays the role of the disbelieving husband, whose convinced his wife is slowly losing it as she tries to get him to realize the strange things occurring around them. He does well with his part and works off Collette's performance, who arguably delivers the better performance of the two. Alex Wolff does exceptionally well playing Annie's and Steve's 16-year-old son Peter Graham, with his character being given more of a complex with his surprise twist that occurs later in the story. He does well with presenting his character as being on the neutral side of his folks in regards to what's happening around them with some of his best scenes consisting of him and Collette acting together (The dinner scene is a stunning example of both their performances being put on full display with them grieving over the loss of a loved one and throwing the blame card at each other). Milly Shapiro impresses as Annie's and Steve's 13-year-old daughter Charlie Graham. Both her and Wolff work well off each other in terms of them both delivering roles playing natural siblings, while being able to convey the tension and frightening aspects regarding their character arcs. Other notable supporting performances are Ann Down as Joan, a support group member who befriends Annie with her character later being revealed to have surprise connections to Annie's deceased mother. The performances as a whole all rise to the occasion of being solid work while bringing believability and added suspense to the story. Toni Collette's performance is nothing short of fantastic with one getting the growing feeling upon watching the film, that she was painfully overlooked in regards to receiving an Academy Award nomination for her brilliant performance in the film.

      In terms of the films directing, filmmaker Ari Aster (In his impressive directorial debut) proves to be both highly-skilled as well as effective in regards to setting up the appropriate atmosphere and mood that the story requires. He also appears to trust his actors as he allows them free reign to play their roles to maximum effect. Aster does well with setting up the main characters along with showing the traumatic experiences that happen to them repeatedly in the first half before entering horror territory with the second. He gives the film a steady buildup of suspense with the films editing and score by Colin Stetson, that feels menacing yet appropriately fits the tone of the story. Aster succeeds in giving the film the right look and tone, while rightfully holding back on the films shocking moments of gratuitous violence, therefore making them more effective when they do occur. Hereditary unquestionably feels like a love letter to classic horror cinema, that's psychological while managing to be surprising in the violence department. For a first effort, Aster shows promise as a newcoming director with hope that he will expand his talents further with the horror genre. One greatly admires that Aster wasn't looking to unanimously please everyone, and opted instead to take risks with the film with the end result paying off much to the films effect.

      The screenplay also by Aster, works effectively in terms of setting up the themes of the story pertaining to severe mental illnesses with Toni Collette's characters decreasing mental state being a perfect example. Other themes the film explores are gender confusion, dementia, hereditary conditions, family, curses, demon possessions, seances, and paranormal activities. The script explores all of these concepts while effectively showing the anger, fear, and panic that the main characters have at the strange occurrences happening around them, as well as the confusion behind it all. The films ultimate message is one that says that untreated mental illnesses and obsession with the paranormal can ultimately prove to be deadly. What Aster does well in terms of writing the script is building up the tension in the story, along with the family struggling to remain whole given the tragedy they experience. The film builds up its suspense with the audience remaining engaged in the story to see what happens in the end with these characters, although the films final scene may leave some viewers scratching their heads despite being a creepy twist to wrap up the story. In terms of the script, the story is well-structured, believable and engaging. The story moves at its own pace, which may feel too slow to certain viewers but the films plot and characters arcs make it interesting enough to maintain the audiences interest with how twisted the story appears the more it unfolds.

      Besides all of the pros of the film, the movie has a few negatives which hold it back from being great such as the script occasionally falling into the trap of other generic paranormal films before it, such as the wife slowly losing her mind and trying to convince her non-believing husband that the spirits are real. Despite those faults giving the story a sense of Deja Vu to viewers, Hereditary largely overcomes those issues by presenting a new angle to the paranormal set of horror flicks while being smart, daring, and relentless with its presentation. The film wouldn't turn out as good as it ultimately does without the incredible performance of its main cast nor its brilliant director, who stuck to his convictions with the way he presented the story while disregarding the fact that the film ultimately polarizes rather than pleases everyone. As Hereditary demonstrates, some films are mean't to go further than just entertain, but to test the waters in regards to what audiences tolerate as well as where their limits are in regards to getting both puzzled and spooked. The film despite being expertly told desires to take its audience on a dark and twisted ride, that messes with them psychologically with the ultimate outcome being it does just that with largely satisfying results. Not every film needs to have a straight-forward narrative that spoon-feeds the audience the entire plot essentially, with some films still managing to deliver the entertainment while requiring the audience to do their part in terms of dissecting the hidden messages and meanings behind the films plot and character arcs. Hereditary is a film that knows what it wishes itself to be, and never once shines away from its ultimate goal which is to entertain and creep out audiences. For those looking for a horror film that leans more towards the psychological side with an old-school set up, Hereditary delivers audiences that antidote as the film is unsettling, harrowing, creepy, and ultimately brave with Toni Collette's performance being explosive, as well as the main sole reason to see the film. Whereas Strangers: Prey At Night and Halloween 2018 aimed to give audiences a taste of the classic glory days of slasher flicks, Hereditary aims to take things up a notch while paying true to the psychological thriller formula, that paranormal activity themed movies thrived off and does so unapologetically.

Final Verdict: If one wants old-school suspense and tension with great acting and surprising directing from a newcomer, Hereditary is the film to see as it not only fulfills those needs but provides a few surprises of its own in regards to its plot and overall quality.