Hereditary

At first a very good and a pleasantly different atmosphere compared to everything called horror today - unexpected things were happening, and I didn't dare guess what would come next. But over time... The representative of the son was becoming more unbearable and his bouts of crying seemed like a parody, the whole big secret didn't make a lot of sense to me and didn't particularly shock me, and the bloody and the stretched ending downright bothered me. This is not the second Witch, and certainly not the second Exorcist. (11/25/2018)

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. (06/29/2018)

Hereditary is a horror film for a slightly more discerning viewer who does not mind the sluggish pace and absence of genre clichès and jump-scares, but conversely appreciates the deeper dialogue and innovative way of narrating an otherwise traditional horror story. The film has a minimalist, almost ever-present and disturbing soundtrack, as well as original visual games that involve placing the characters in a space with a symbolically surreal approach to the scene of horror that takes place (the cottage, dummies). It’s not quite a mainstream genre movie with the depth of a full-fledged psychological drama of a family with a really long-kept secret. Except that the revelation of said secret did not shake me as much as I had expected after all that drama. (07/18/2018)

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. (08/28/2018)

Hereditary is a truly unconventional genre blend that will not leave any viewer cold. A pervasive and very disturbing atmosphere permeates this family drama, which sets the stage for mystery horror. In this case, however, it is not so much about the scares and frightening scenes as it is about building an extremely uncomfortable and chilling feeling. The actors were well chosen and do a very good job, with each of them contributing more than one memorable scene. Perhaps the only thing that bothered me about the final form of the film was the somewhat wildly conceived ending, which seemed a bit over-the-top script-wise. (09/22/2018)