Hereditary (Movie Review)

The new horror film Hereditary (2018) has gained critics approval, some even considering it as the best horror movie of the year and others claiming it to be just as terrifying as the Exorcist (1973). However, when audience watched the film they weren't too happy about it. Even the people I watched it along almost hated it, stating it was boring.

When I finished watching the movie for the first time, I had a feeling of confusion and shock. The movie successfully managed to mess with my head and made me like it even more. Here are a few reasons why I liked the film.

Firstly, it's not like other traditional horror movies. This film barely has any jump scares, yet it manages to terrify the audience. Most of the viewers (including me) were expecting to see a ghost or a monster when our characters entered a dark room or when the music got louder, however that wasn't the case. Instead, the movie cleverly showed objects and scenes at unexpected moments, that managed to terrify the audience. Example, the possessed Annie just staring at her son from the ceiling. These unexpected moments in the film is what managed to keep me at the edge of the seat.

The movie cleverly disguises itself more as an issue about mental illnesses, rather than that of a supernatural element. At the start of the movie, we are introduced to the history of mental disorders in Annie's family. Her mother suffered from dissociative identity disorder, her father starved himself to death and her schizophrenic brother committed suicide after he felt his mother putting voices inside his head. The first half of the movie is emotionally exhausting, since we see almost all of our characters having a breakdown due to a tragic event. This is portrayed in a very realistic and shocking manner, where you begin to empathize with the characters. However, it's not until the end of the movie, we realize that the family's downfall was orchestrated by their grandmother's demonic cult. One reason why we are able to empathize with the family is because of the incredible acting delivered by Toni Collete and Alex Wolff.

One reason why most people weren't satisfied with the film was due to the fact that it didn't quiet fall into the "horror " genre. This movie uses psychological elements to move the plot forward, rather than the supernatural element.

It's about a family dealing with unexplained supernatural forces that haunt them, living in a chaotic family with a history of mental illnesses and their struggles to cope with traumatic experiences. Therefore, this movie is more of a twisted family drama.

The final tragedy lies in the fact that the characters had no choice because they were chosen to be doomed and there's nothing they can do to save themselves. In the end, the title of the movie "Hereditary " explains the plot by pointing out that the central conflict is the inheritance of a mental illness and a family curse that will lead to our characters eventual downfall.