Review of Hereditary (2018) by Rob D — 19 Jun 2018

This film is getting mentioned in the same breath as recent arthouse horror such as Mother!, the Witch and It comes at Night.I really enjoyed these films even though they divided audiences. I expected to like Hereditary.

There's many fine moments in the film. There are some interesting ideas and terrific acting. What starts as a film about a troubled turns into a parody of Rosemary's Baby, replete with lots of nude old people in long shots.

The ending is pedestrian and completely void of anything interesting. The idea of a family controlled by demons is promising, but as presented here, it's neither thrilling or compelling. When the "horror" arrives, it's pedestrian and agonizingly slow.

I was completely unmoved by it. I loved the first hour but could have done without the convoluted ending which resorts to narration. The idea of the family being powerless pawns is interesting but the silly rules and needless exposition that's trotted out at the end broke the spell.

Please don't burden me with explanations for the tiniest of plot machinations during the last 10 minutes. Oh and also maybe cool it after your 2nd or 3rd long shot of naked old people. I see myself naked at least once a day and it's much more terrifying than Hereditary.