HEREDITARY

"Hail Paimon!"

That's right, guys and gals. Today I'm going to be talking about Hereditary, which I just saw in theaters AT NIGHT...by myself. And it was a very enjoyable experience, seeing the movie alone. I did, however, have to take a bath and go right to bed when I got home, because Hereditary was extremely emotionally draining and kept me SO TENSE the entire time. I would say that's the mark of a good film- to be able to pull that much emotion from an audience member. 

The plot of Hereditary is so wild that it's difficult to explain without giving the plot away, so note: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

Hereditary tells the story of the Graham family, who has recently been deprived of their matriarch following her death. Annie, the mother, builds miniatures; her husband, Steve, is some kinda corporate dude; their son Peter is a highschool stoner dude; and their daughter, Charlie, is clearly kinda weird, but it's hard to figure out why at the beginning of the film. Charlie spends a lot of her screen time making clicking noises and beheading dead birds for weird art projects. Things are tense in the Graham home, as no one seems to show any effort in dealing with Annie's mother's death. The mood of the house becomes even worse when Peter accidentally kills Charlie on the way home from a party where Charlie has accidentally eaten something with peanuts in it. Deathly allergic to peanuts, Charlie sticks her head outside the car window as Peter frantically drives her to the hospital- only to swerve off the road and decapitate his sister by hitting a lighting pole. After Charlie's death, Annie meets a mysterious woman named Joan at a grief counseling meeting. Joan teaches Annie how to perform a seance in order to contact Charlie. However, when Annie attempts this at home, she unwittingly releases the spirit inhabiting Charlie- some kinda demon thing named Paimon. The rest of the film devolves into Annie getting possessed, Steve burning up in flames, and cult members descending on the family's home. As it turns out, Annie's mother was the leader of a cult (which Joan turned out to be in) dedicated to giving Paimon a host. At the end of the movie, Peter becomes the new host for Paimon, and all the cult members bow down to him (including the corpses of his parents). 

So that was super wild. Having typed out my summary, I realize how ludicrous of a film Hereditary could have been. For some strange reason however, the movie works for me. It's extremely terrifying, from the slow burn of tension and family secrets to the horrifying image of Charlie's disembodied head being shown with ants crawling all over it. 

The acting in this movie is fantastic, especially the performance of Toni Collette, the actress who played Annie. I would almost compare the style of the movie and the themes of guilt, grief, and avoidance to those exhibited in The Babadook. The Babadook and Hereditary share many common traits: a child with strange behavior, the unwillingness to confront one's own grief and depression, and the bleakness of the films' designs. 

Not only is Hereditary a horror movie, but also a family drama and allegorical tale of losing control despite one's desperate attempts to regain it. I would definitely recommend the film to anyone who is a fan of horror, but I will admit that it's not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of graphic violence (that I thought was very well done) but could definitely give people nightmares. Films like Hereditary are the reason we have the MPAA rating system.

So go see the film, and if you're not squeamish, get yourself a large popcorn. Just try not to regurgitate the contents of your stomach all over the theater floor.

Rating: A+