Having earned good reviews in Sundance Film festival, Hereditary comes as the first movie from writer and director Ari Aster and is distributed by A24 films. There are shades of various classic scary movies in Hereditary but it moves steadily on its own pace with some good editing as well as sound effects that fans of the horror genre will definitely enjoy. It builds up the momentum in a tense and engaging fashion through the first hour but like a racer struggling to the finish line, it loses direction in its second half, ending its run in a loose and messy manner.
The movie focuses on Annie Graham, played by Toni Collette, who is an artist specializing in creating miniature three-dimensional models and lives with her husband and a son and daughter. It begins with the funeral of Annie’s mother Ellen, with whom Annie had a troubled relationship. The first pointer at things heading in the wrong direction comes when Steve, Annie’s husband (Gabriel Byrne) is informed that Ellen’s grave has been desecrated. While attending a support group, Annie delivers a long monologue, revealing the past mental illnesses of her family members.
Things go wrong again as Annie’s son Peter heads to a party with her sister Charlie. From then on, a curtain of darkness descends on the family as things began to slowly spiral out of control for the entire family. Annie has a history of sleepwalking and it comes back to haunt her present as she slowly loses control over her life. Something evil starts to control the destiny of the family and Peter becomes the main target in multiple ways. Hereditary draws out some of the instants of tension and anxiety making the audience wait breathlessly for some of the most devastating moments to arrive and then delivers in full.
The promising first hour of the movie could have built up to something terrific but Hereditary falls short of imagination in the end and moves into a much familiar territory that fails to surprise. Even though the horror elements are there in plenty, Hereditary is also a great psychological drama focussing on a mother whose slow decent into an emotional nightmare while dragging her family along, is definitely disturbing. It is more so because of the superb performance from Toni Collette who portrays each emotion and dread of a tormented mother like a master artist. Her performance alone lifts the movie to a much higher level than average horror flicks. Gabriel Byrne as the grave and sincere husband provides good support and so does Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro as the children.
The movie is crafted superbly and the detailing in some of the scenes is top class. The camera uses the play of light and darkness to portray some of the best scary moments and is supported by great sound design. One example worth mentioning is that of a particular common sound, made by the tongue in the mouth, which is used to a great effect by the director. The movie does not provide jump-out-of-the-seat scary moments as such but some scenes will surely stick to the mind long after viewing.
But all these earnest efforts fall flat on the face as the plot opens up and we get to see all the cards. The tension that was like a taut piano wire goes flaccid as the movie heads towards the climax. In the end, it stands out as a movie that is a mix-up between a dark family drama and a supernatural horror thriller. I just wish that it would have played to its full potential as one or the other.
Teleratz rating: Above average
By Suvajit Banerjee
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