Ari Aster's Hereditary opens with one of the most beautiful and serene oscillating continuous shots I've seen in a horror movie. A beautiful shot for one of the most unnerving movies in recent memory. Honestly, one of the most unnerving movies in the past decade.
When Ellen passes away, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited in Hereditary.
When trying to compile my thoughts together for reviewing this masterpiece of the horror genre, I've been left virtually wordless. A movie rarely resonated with me the way this one did. Not since I first viewed John Carpenter's The Thing, Trey Edward Schults' It Comes At Night, or even Goodnight Mommy or William Friedkin's The Exorcist.
I know what you're thinking. This kid has no idea what he is talking about, comparing these horror masterpieces to a first-time director's debut like Hereditary. Ari Aster takes the reins of horror and twists it and weaves it together like a seasoned veteran. His direction and writing are second-to-none and he absolutely kills it.
Hereditary was written and directed by Ari Aster. It stars Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, and Milly Shapiro. The movie is rated R for horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and brief graphic nudity. Running time for the movie is 127 minutes.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
(Review by Everett Shirey)
