Last edited by a moderator:
Hereditary (Post-release)
- Thread starter Vivek
- Start date
JD
Master Member
My basically spoiler free review....
Hereditary is masterful horror film. The first 3/4 of the film feels a little different - a little more character driven with some serious craziness. It's moody, brooding and powerful... amazing job by Toni Collette, it's a shame Gabriel Byrne didn't get a little more to work with. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as this film twisted and turned its way into it's final act - there's legit spooky stuff going on.
When all hell finally breaks loose, it becomes more of your typical Paranormal flick (without the shaky cam). Even with those gates open wide, it's still fun - if not a little more stereotypical and maybe even tongue in cheek.
The child actors were both solid - Alex Wolff seemed a little shaky in a few early scenes, but made up for it. Toni Collette was almost giving a clinic and Gabriel Byrne, solid as always... but, but man I just wish he just a little bit more to work with. The flick is a bit long at 2 hours - there might be a little trim work that might've made it a bit tighter.
Hereditary is masterful horror film. The first 3/4 of the film feels a little different - a little more character driven with some serious craziness. It's moody, brooding and powerful... amazing job by Toni Collette, it's a shame Gabriel Byrne didn't get a little more to work with. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as this film twisted and turned its way into it's final act - there's legit spooky stuff going on.
When all hell finally breaks loose, it becomes more of your typical Paranormal flick (without the shaky cam). Even with those gates open wide, it's still fun - if not a little more stereotypical and maybe even tongue in cheek.
The child actors were both solid - Alex Wolff seemed a little shaky in a few early scenes, but made up for it. Toni Collette was almost giving a clinic and Gabriel Byrne, solid as always... but, but man I just wish he just a little bit more to work with. The flick is a bit long at 2 hours - there might be a little trim work that might've made it a bit tighter.
Snikt
Sr Member
This movie was a snoozefest in my and my gf's opinion. Toni Collette was phenomenal though, I agree with that. Gabriel Byrne was fine, but I kinda thought he was a tad too old for the role, and Alex Wolff was miscast. Not only did he not do anything, but he did not look like a product of Gabriel Byrne and Toni Collette. I couldnt find anything remotely scary until the final act, and it didnt seem like it was very coherent within its own universe. Lots of whys didnt get answered. Lots of cliches at the end, I dont understand why so many people are liking this movie. Just didnt do it for me. I like slow burns with a good pay off, but this fell flat.
Keycube
Well-Known Member
It always seems to be the case (with me) that the first act in modern horror films, where almost nothing is going on, is always the scariest for me; I know that's the only time I'm going to get vagueness and unknowns...for soon enough, I'm going to have a mess of visuals rammed down my throat that test my suspension of disbelief.
The simple story of a family enduring psychological trauma, and descending into chaos; that alone is scary to me. The end-game here could have been the same, but just simplified and slowed down once the paranormal stuff kicked in. There were a handful of moments that were so over the top in the 2nd and 3rd act, that I wanted to giggle.
Same exact feeling with me regarding "The Witch"; though, at least it was only the last minute or so that I checked out in that one. I love to be on the edge of my seat, wondering "wtf is going on?!?!". But too often it ends up, "Oh, THAT"S going on?!? Damn
".
So disappointed. I was looking forward to this for months.
The simple story of a family enduring psychological trauma, and descending into chaos; that alone is scary to me. The end-game here could have been the same, but just simplified and slowed down once the paranormal stuff kicked in. There were a handful of moments that were so over the top in the 2nd and 3rd act, that I wanted to giggle.
Same exact feeling with me regarding "The Witch"; though, at least it was only the last minute or so that I checked out in that one. I love to be on the edge of my seat, wondering "wtf is going on?!?!". But too often it ends up, "Oh, THAT"S going on?!? Damn
".So disappointed. I was looking forward to this for months.
I have NO IDEA what I think about this movie.
I'm still trying to sort it out in my head.
When I woke up this morning (I saw a LATE show... til 1:00 AM - the thrill of being single and free to do whatever again) I only knew there were scenes I loved... great writing/acting
I loved the look... how it was shot. There were some genuinely creepy moments... I vocaly blurted out "*****" at a very out of nowhere telephone poll moment...
But I wasn't scared...
I wasn't bored... but I wasn't excited either.
I liked how weird the ending was... but still not sure it was a good ending.
It's just when you get 3/4 of the way through the movie and you're still thinking "So... what are ANY of these character's goals... what is the driving narrative here?" that's not quite right.
Then when they do get to the point I was going back through the movie trying to make sense of it all instead of watching.
But everyone was great. And I had to pee but didn't want to miss a moment... when I couldn't hold it any longer I RAN to the toilet. (during Solo I walked and checked my email, heh)
----
Oh and one last thing... man is it a bummer in the middle. When I spend a good 10 minutes in a movie getting stressed out thinking how I would handle the sudden death of my kid, not the most fun movie going experience.
I'm still trying to sort it out in my head.
When I woke up this morning (I saw a LATE show... til 1:00 AM - the thrill of being single and free to do whatever again) I only knew there were scenes I loved... great writing/acting
I loved the look... how it was shot. There were some genuinely creepy moments... I vocaly blurted out "*****" at a very out of nowhere telephone poll moment...
But I wasn't scared...
I wasn't bored... but I wasn't excited either.
I liked how weird the ending was... but still not sure it was a good ending.
It's just when you get 3/4 of the way through the movie and you're still thinking "So... what are ANY of these character's goals... what is the driving narrative here?" that's not quite right.
Then when they do get to the point I was going back through the movie trying to make sense of it all instead of watching.
But everyone was great. And I had to pee but didn't want to miss a moment... when I couldn't hold it any longer I RAN to the toilet. (during Solo I walked and checked my email, heh)
----
Oh and one last thing... man is it a bummer in the middle. When I spend a good 10 minutes in a movie getting stressed out thinking how I would handle the sudden death of my kid, not the most fun movie going experience.
Snikt
Sr Member
See, thats what I think is riding a lot on this film. Toni Collette's acting is amazing, and yeah, putting yourself in her shoes makes you relate, for those that have kids I suppose, but the movie wasnt scary! It wasnt thrilling! I dont know what kind of movie this was. What were the scary parts that didnt happen in the last act? Im genuinely asking, because I have no idea. Yeah I was a bit shocked when the kid got decapitated, but it wasnt scary. This was marketed as a horror film.
Snikt
Sr Member
Haha just in general I mean. As a horror fan, I seriously dont get the praise for this. It had a very paranormal activity vibe at the end, but that movie was 10 times scarier.
I'm starting to wonder if I'm too desensitized for horror movies. Nothing has "shaken" me since The Exorcist when I saw it 15 years ago.
I genuinely was weirded out by some shots in this... similar to how the woman standing beside the bed for 6 hours time lapse in Paranormal Activity was weird...
but I don't ever seem to get scared or have the flick haunt me in bed that night.
Thought "It follows" had some unsettling shots.
I dunno. Not my genre I guess.
Got any suggestions? ha
Snikt
Sr Member
I was kind of weirded out when the mom was banging her head on the attic door, I thought that was pretty creepy. But other than that, I wasnt impressed.
See I couldnt stand "it follows" because it didnt even follow its own set of in universe rules.
I personally find demon possession movies, when done correctly, pretty unsettling. Also with the found footage aspect, makes it scarier cause it seems real. The VHS movies definitely had some creepy vibes to them. Check em out, they were on Netflix but Im not sure anymore.
See I couldnt stand "it follows" because it didnt even follow its own set of in universe rules.
I personally find demon possession movies, when done correctly, pretty unsettling. Also with the found footage aspect, makes it scarier cause it seems real. The VHS movies definitely had some creepy vibes to them. Check em out, they were on Netflix but Im not sure anymore.
Similar threads
