HEREDITARY (2018)

The eternal refrain of my life is how many movies I make a mental note to see in theaters months before they actually come out. Inevitably, I enter some kind of time warp and always end up shocked that I somehow didn't catch them in theaters over a year later. I need some kind of planner for this shit. Though likely as not, I'd forget I had that as well. This is why it's probably for the best I don't have kids. Where's little Timmy? Who is Timmy?

Parenting is always scary on some level, which HEREDITARY taps into quite well. I was interested in this one before it's release, but somehow missed out until it went up on Amazon Prime in January. Toni Collette's one of those actors I don't consciously follow, but I'm always pleasantly surprised to find her in a movie. It's the equivalent of picking up what you think is a penny and it turns out to be a dime, or taking a sip of water and discovering it's gin. She stars alongside Gabriel Byrne, presumably dragged out from whatever bridge he's been living under since the money from VIKINGS dried up, as a couple raising two kids and coping with the death of Collette's mother.

Attempts to write convincing family dynamics in horror are always a hit and miss, with more misses than not. Everyone wants to think they're the next POLTERGEIST, without giving the script the complexity and chemistry it needs to be convincing, to make us genuinely care about this family. HEREDITARY is certainly a hit in this sense. All of the family, parents and children, are thoughtfully written and it does a wonderful job of actually showing the dynamic rather than just narrating it. The tension between different family members rings true, but somehow never makes you genuinely question whether they love eachother - hard as loss and the increasingly bizarre occurrences around their home may be.

The horror is a slow burn in the very best way. I haven't been this impressed by a first film from a (relatively) new director since GET OUT, and there is a similar level of unease and tension running throughout the film even in the more quiet moments. The scares start out slow and subtle, but from the first scene there's an eerie aspect to everything. Part of this is due to some fantastic visual work - the cinematography, lighting, and oddly muted colors are all well done. The acting is all marvelous, maintaining a level of drama that's painful to watch at times, but all too realistic. Collette and her son (played by Alex Wolff) are the standouts for me - aside from the fact that Wolff looks, uh, absolutely nothing like the rest of the family.

Female roles in horror movies are a complicated subject at best, all too frequently being resigned to what role they play in someone else's story - the sexy love interest, the overbearing mother, the mysterious creepy kid, etc. HEREDITARY is a stellar example of using those old tired roles in a new, clever way simply by giving them real agency and a real story. Toni Collette as a terrified, grief-stricken mother caught up in something sinister is nothing new; the complexity of her trying to deal with it, of her relationship with her own mother, even with her children is what really sells it. The young daughter Charlie could have been yet another generic creepy kid - a trope which all too-often seems to rely on some extremely ableist assumptions - but despite being very strange, she's also shown compassionately. Her family may not understand her, but they love her genuinely. None of this is new, but it's all done very tastefully.

Pictured: My face for the last ten minutes of the film

The scares are, well, yeah. I've watched this movie three times now, and it continues to be effective. This is one slow burn where the final act pays off for the buildup, and dear god does it ever pay off. I've seldom seen such a complete and horrifying resolution. The finale left me sitting with my jaw dropped long enough I'm lucky nothing nested in there, as the film consistently did things I never saw coming. Yet also, I can't imagine it ending any other way. It's horrifying, and uses gore in precisely the best way it should be done - unflinching, realistically gruesome, and used sparingly to great effect. It's also one that I highly recommend rewatching. I was so stunned the first time that I missed just how many details from earlier in the film are important for the finale, and it seems each time I notice more. This script is packed tighter than a mall on Black Friday, and I loved every bit of it.

The one complaint I've heard, aside from a slow pace which is purely a matter of taste, is that the plot is hard to follow. That's a bit of a yes and no for me, but I think it really boils down to how much attention you pay. This is not a good movie for working on other tasks as you watch, or chatting with friends, because you're likely to miss half the explanations for why it happened. There are no throwaway details, period.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I would easily consider HEREDITARY one of the finest horror films in recent years years, and second only to GET OUT in how shocked I am to see this level of quality from a new director. Even if slow buildups and family drama aren't your usual cup of tea, I'd recommend giving this a try just to see what all the fuss is about - because this is a fuss well-deserved.

This movie passes the Bechdel Test within the first five minutes, which is a rare sight in horror films and one I'd love to see more of.

5 out of 5

This movie is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.