Hereditary

Hereditary is a great horror movie that is worth your time, even if it's not an all-time great. The thing that convinced me to watch this movie is the sheer amount of critics that say it's one of the best horror movies of the 2010s, which, I have to respectfully disagree with. I completely understand why some might think that, it just wasn't as great as I expected. The direction is smart, the story has lots of shock factor. There's one great scene earlier in the movie where, spoilers, the daughter is accidentally killed by her brother while taking her to the hospital. The acting by the brother, played by Alex Wolff was fantastic. The way he remained looking forward, not wanting to even peek at the corpse in his backseat, was brilliant. Toni Collette was also extremely good as the mother, she was the best actress in the movie. There's so many great ideas that are executed perfectly, with great acting and great directing. I just wish the film would have gone a little farther with it, as the movie isn't really scary, just disturbing. If I was actually scared while watching, I'd be much more keen on another viewing. The thing is, I'd much rather rewatch something like Halloween because it's just more fun. It doesn't feel like there is much replay value in Hereditary, even though it is done so well. There's something in the back of my mind that just won't stop looking back at it, and I don't think it's a positive thing. Something else I had to consider was if this effect was intentional. Did the director mean for the audience to feel this way? I've dwelled on it for a while, and still I don't know how I feel about it. It's been what was keeping me from writing this review. If anything, the movie does stick with you, for better or for worse. Overall, it's a really good movie that gets your mind moving. The performances are top notch, even if the movie isn't particularly terrifying. Watch it if you get the chance, or not. It might mess with your head, like it did to mine.