Review of Hereditary (2018) by Protodeus — 07 Jun 2018

An unholy, relentless, demented film that is emotionally torturous and visually deranged. It will make you feel almost defiled after you leave the theater.

I have watched a lot of 'critically acclaimed' horror movies. The Witch, The Babadook, It Follows etc... I honestly didn't care for any of them. This movie lived up to the hype. I can't really explain why it's so horrifying, but it just feels so... wrong. The way the film captures absolute grief and despair made my emotions churn, and there are some moments in the final 20 minutes of the film that were absolutely horrifying. Of course, this film is nothing without Toni Collette, who gives a performance worthy of an Academy Award. She walks a very fine line between portraying an emotionally traumatized, psychologically damaged woman and not hamming it up to the point where it's funny. I'm actually not kidding, I think it's one of the best performances from an actress that I have ever seen. Alex Wolff also gives an absolutely wonderful performance. The movie is a slow burn, but it's never boring. It's never pretentious either, which I felt was the case with 'The Witch' and 'It Comes at Night'. I honestly think that it is equal to the Exorcist in its horrific imagery. It's really one of the best horror films I've seen in a very long time, and I highly recommend it.