Hereditary

I don't think a film has given me this much of a visceral reaction. This movie grabs hold and shakes you around until you're absolutely exhausted. Very rarely do I get legitimately scared during most horror films (i'm still relatively new to the genre), but Hereditary did it. It actually did it. This movie is absolutely fucking terrifying, but I don't want to overhype it. My reaction is bound to be different from others so take this with a grain of salt. If you have any interest in seeing the movie, I say just go see it. If you enjoyed the trailer you'll love the actual thing. The reason for me being afraid to overhype it is that - aside from my tendancy to do that from time to time cough Fury Road cough - there's always critics who call movies like this "the SCARIEST film you'll ever see", and most of the time it doesn't feel genuine. Keeping that in mind, I thought this movie was masterful. Absolutely masterful. The performances, especially Toni Collette as the mother, were all excellent. My god, she really gave it her all. The way she interacted with the rest of the cast felt incredibly real with some actual chemistry and an incredible family dynamic. Collette does steal the show, but that doesn't mean the rest of the cast were any worse. Next, the tension. You can cut the tension with a knife. It's so rich in its atmosphere, slow camera movements, and deliberate cinematography. You're also never quite sure where the story is going to go, but once the payoff hits...it's jaw-dropping. It feels a bit messy at times, but I think the way it was wrapped up put a neat and unsettling bow on the entire package. It rarely relies on cheap scares, but rather surprise, exploration of the unknown, family dynamics, and honest to god terror. I loved this film, and i'm not sure if it's too early to tell, but it might be one of the scariest movies i've seen. It's going to go down as one of my favorites of 2018 that I might not ever want to watch again.