Hereditary

A few clichés turned upside down, a few others confirmed in the most unpleasant form possible. An excellent cast of actors, so inconspicuous for so long that in key moments they are terrifyingly precise. But what will never leave my mind are those quiet jolts, when the sound engineer doesn't need to slam the door and the composer doesn't need to pluck three strings on the violin. Just at the right moment, the right object, outline, or cloth appears and I'm immediately having fits, wondering if the fabric has suffered any damage. Plot-wise, Ari Aster doesn't discover anything new, but that path full of hints and clues that become completely clear after you've seen it all the way through has something to it, and the atmosphere of life among the dollhouses transformed into a sense of being present in one of them is one of those million-dollar creative ideas that come once in a career. For me, Hereditary is incomparable, both in its rare combination of idea and execution, and in the fact that no one will ever bring me the same level of tense anticipation. (28/06/2021)

Unreasonably long and Toni Collette (true, ungrateful in terms of acting) is not able to handle the central character of a hysteric women. So much for the shortcomings that are unquestionable. Then there's another weakness regarding the final frantic twenty minutes, which lapses into a literally degraded guilty pleasure mode. And although we can enjoy it a lot, that´s for sure, it is in such a sharp contradiction with the slowly built creeping atmosphere full of hints that it doesn't match together. Not even remotely. Which is terribly unfortunate, because otherwise it is a great movie for a genre viewer looking for something slightly different but at the same time well-known. (24/07/2018)

Although I much appreciate the unconventional attention management and the minimum of mainstream elements, I have my reservations. The pacing is simply poor and there are a number of empty scenes with very limited narrative value that stick out of an already inadequate runtime. In the final half hour, however, the plot suddenly kicks into high gear and the depressing portrait of a family tragedy completely gives way to a horror feast and an elaborate explanation of the whole plot (personally, I had a big issue with it). On the other hand, it is admirable how Aster manages to mask the stagnation of the plot by constantly playing unpleasant music and visual games with the environment, and how he handles really suspenseful or suggestive sequences, which are few but all the more impressive (mainly because the viewer has to engage their own imagination). And yet, I'm still bothered by the story, which simply leaves too many question marks and oddities for me to be carelessly carried away by the uniquely constructed atmosphere. Maybe after another viewing I'll reconsider, for the time being, though, I’m not going any further. (28/08/2018)

A film I never want to see again!! Hereditary has received a lot hype much like A Quiet Place, but the difference is that the former is loved and raved about by critics but hated by mainstream audiences, while the latter garners raves on both sides. Hereditary is not audience-friendly and can be placed in a similar variety of films to The Witch and Mother !, and it also features a twist that pisses-off most viewers. The film is a little over two hours long and is told at a very slow pace, thus impatient viewers may yawn with boredom, but if you can get sucked into the atmosphere, you will get an extraordinary experience that will make you very anxious to the point of being uncomfortable. The film is creatively shot, the camera angles are breathtaking for a debut, but above all it's the acting of Toni Collette, who delivers one of the most impressive female performances I've ever had the opportunity to see and if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination I'll be very surprised. Praise also goes to Milly Shapiro who wins the award for ugliest little girl I've ever seen, she’ll give you chills! Hereditary sets a new direction in horror and is very close to The Exorcist and The Shining. Definitely don't expect any jump-scares or gore, rather expect a disturbing, psychological, emotional horror drama, but one that has one of the most intense finales I've seen in a long time. A couple of scenes are very uncomfortable to the point of hard to watch and will definitely stick in my mind for a long time. I felt anxious and uncomfortable after leaving the cinema and the two near crashes on the way home didn't add much to the mood. 85%. (15/06/2018)

Beautifully nasty, dark, stifling, chilling. Something few people will appreciate as much as the knowledgeable horror fans. In Hereditary you need to be able to enjoy the slow, atmospheric, unsettling and emotionally tense first half (or rather, three quarters) as much as the literal (beautiful, if you can call it that) horror atrocities into which the film dives in the end. Half the people will say that it’s slow and lacking cheap attractions (“where are the jump scares?”), while the other half will lament that it didn’t stick to only hints all the way. I love how this film portrays the broken relationships in that family. I love how the director, with only one sound, is able to generate a deeper awful feeling than a dozen jump scares and gore scenes of other films. I love how the actors (excellent, all of them), with just one look and expression, managed to make me shiver and tremble. I haven’t felt so permanently nervous in film in a long time. And last but not least, the advertising campaign also deserves praise for being able to be attractive without giving almost anything away. I strongly advise potential viewers against reading any random comment about this film, because sooner or later, some idiot will say something that you really don’t want to know; the moment when I knew this the film hooked up, and I realised wasn’t watching your average overrated horror indie flick that’s forgotten after a year. Thanks to Planet Dark for the early preview at Kino pilotů, free of any random teenagers going to the multiplex for the new James Wan movie. (29/06/2018)