There’s a persistent clicking sound present throughout the two-hour runtime of “Hereditary.” It’s representative not only of Charlie, the 13-year-old daughter, but of the Graham family and the film as a whole.
The film almost feels like a slow burn, a ticking time bomb that has viewers on the edge of their seats, anxiously waiting for the climactic explosion. And when everything starts to fall apart in the latter half of the film, the bomb really does explode.
“Hereditary” is one of the most unsettling films in recent years. Toni Collette plays Annie Graham, a mother of two and miniaturist artist. When her mysterious mother Ellen passes away, Annie begins to learn more of Ellen’s past, and the entire Graham family is seemingly haunted by a strange presence.
Rounding out the family is Annie’s husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), son Peter (Alex Wolff) and daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro).
Charlie by far had the most lasting impression on me. Her constant clicking sounds serve as both jump scares and tension builders, and her obsession with dead creatures immediately establishes that the Graham family isn’t quite normal.
Her role is smaller than I would have thought, but Milly Shapiro did a fantastic job portraying a secretive, curious and oftentimes downright scary child.
There’s a huge emphasis on misdirection and expectation subversion, and without spoiling anything, nothing really went the way I thought it would.
Judging by the trailers, it’s easy to assume that Annie is the film’s protagonist. In a sense she is, but it becomes difficult to relate to her as the film progresses. As the family begins to unwind, Annie does as well, leading to some of the more harrowing moments. However, Toni Collette’s acting chops are put on full display as she showcases essentially every possible emotion a mother could have. Please give this woman an Oscar.
If anything, Steve serves as the primary voice of reason. It’s hard not to feel sorry for him as he struggles to hold his family together. I did not expect the film to delve so heavily into family dynamics — the trailers portrayed a different tone entirely.
Surprisingly, Peter plays arguably the biggest role. At the end of the day he’s an innocent kid caught up in an over-the-top, supernatural family situation, and watching him come to terms with his situation is incredibly uncomfortable.
Balancing supernatural elements with everyday family affairs is a tough task, but director Ari Aster succeeds in doing so.
Most remarkably, looking back it’s hard to decide which scenes were more stressful. Was it the supernatural occurrences, or the conversations at the dinner table?
Many horror films struggle with pacing. Sometimes there is too much nonstop action, and sometimes there is just too much downtime. “Hereditary” achieves an almost perfect balance of the two.
Scary scenes and jump scares often go hand in hand with nighttime, but here it’s impossible to guess when something will happen.
When something finally does happen, the payoff is huge. This is a film made for second viewings, because almost every scene is foreshadowed in some way.
By paying close attention, it becomes almost too easy to figure out what will happen. At the same time, it’s almost impossible to figure this out on a first viewing, which is a testament to how well constructed the film is.
“Hereditary” isn’t for the faint of heart. There are a few incredibly graphic scenes that won’t sit well with many, but these scenes are crucial to the film’s underlying message.
Yet, for anyone even remotely interested in the genre, I recommend giving the film a shot. The payoff is immense, and will have even skeptics on the edge of their seats.
Sweet dreams, because I know after watching “Hereditary” I didn’t have any.
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected]