Hereditary: Yes, it really is that scary

IT’S been called the scariest movie of the year, but does the hype live up to reality? You may need to invest in a night light after this.

WHEN a film has been proclaimed as “the scariest movie of the year” and “this generation’s Exorcist”, it’s really hard to live up to the expectations.

In many ways, being the buzziest buzz out of Sundance earlier this year can work against you — the pressure to deliver is immense. Is it the scariest thing you’ll ever watch? Probably not. But it will be among the year’s most bloodcurdling flicks. Of course, that depends on your own constitution and what makes your bones chill in the darkness of the movie theatre while surrounded by strangers.

If you love nothing more than being freaked out by jump scares, with knife-wielding psychopaths around every corner or an apparition appearing out of nowhere, Hereditary won’t do it for you.

But if you’re looking for something that operates on a deeper psychological level while still searing into your brain some of the most disturbing visuals projected on screen, then strap in for quite an experience.

Instead of going for the cheap thrills, Hereditary’s fear manifests from anticipatory dread — every shadow lurking in the corner, every long shot down a hallway or a frame held just a little longer than is comfortable. Viewing tip: Remember to exhale.

Don’t sleep alone the night you watch Hereditary

We meet the Graham family at the funeral of grandma Ellen, whose death sets off a horrifying chain of events. Annie (Toni Collette) is giving a difficult eulogy that talks about her estrangement with her mother and the painful relationship they had.

Her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and son Peter (Alex Wolff) aren’t upset about Ellen’s death but Annie’s daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) had a special connection with grandma. An isolated child with a haunted look (aided immensely by Shapiro’s distinctive look), Charlie’s odd behaviour extends to decapitating dead birds with sharp scissors, secreting the head in her pocket.

When another tragedy strikes the Grahams, it sends Annie into full meltdown. After meeting a kind woman (Ann Dowd) at a grief support group, she attempts to connect with the spiritual realm, a disastrous decision.

Annie is a miniature artist and her workshop is littered with pieces in which she is recreating the family’s trauma in perfect shrunken detail. The presence of these dollhouse-like installations lingers over every scene (some of the full-scale mise-en-scene is cleverly set up like a miniature diorama), as if a malevolent force is controlling the Grahams’ fates. Besides, aren’t dollhouses already as creepy as hell?

You might want to invest in a night light

Hereditary’s first hour is a masterclass in building suspense, occasionally punctuated by a nerve-racking sequence in which your fears are teased enough to make you wonder what horrors first time feature director Ari Aster will put you through before he releases you from his disquieting prison.

When the film careens towards its climax and the story becomes clearer, Hereditary almost becomes more conventional — its conclusion owes much to a paragon of its genre from the 1960s.

But before that, it amps up the action, pummelling you with classic horror images and anxieties but takes it to another level by pushing past your fear threshold — there is one particular image I bet you won’t be forgetting in a hurry.

Collette has proven her range time and again from romantic-comedies to serious drama, and played eight different roles in The United States of Tara. She’s even dabbled in this genre before with The Sixth Sense. And yet, this is her most powerful performance.

The Australian is able to swing from one extreme to another, seemingly at the drop of a pin, taking audiences on an emotional rollercoaster with Annie, a mother burdened with howling grief, paranoia, guilt and everything in between.

It’s an incredibly effective performance and every facial movement, every gesture and every word spoken is perfectly calculated to instil fear, confusion or empathy — whatever the story requires in that exact moment.

With its story rooted deeply in the chokehold of family legacy, there’s something visceral in how Hereditary burrows into your subconscious because every family has their secrets.

Rating: ★★★★

Hereditary is in cinemas from Thursday, June 7.

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