★★★½☆
3 June 2018
A movie review of HEREDITARY. |
“I recognise you from your mother,” Joan (Ann Dowd)
HEREDITARY is a horror film with the elegance of THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) and the meditatively paced menace of THE WITCH (2015). (Any coincidence that Toni Collette is the star of the former and this?) The opening shot is dazzling. So much of HEREDITARY is expertly crafted, and could have been in the same stylish league as THE CONJURING (2013), but the ending is fumbled. Like THE WITCH, this movie would have benefitted from more ambiguity. Is what we are watching in the protagonists’ heads? And if so, all the leads or just some/one? Those are the questions being asked through much of the runtime. Having a conclusive answer, and a big climax (relative to the rest of the measured majority), actually feels anticlimactic.
HEREDITARY is a horror film with the elegance of THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) and the meditatively paced menace of THE WITCH (2015). (Any coincidence that Toni Collette is the star of the former and this?) The opening shot is dazzling. So much of HEREDITARY is expertly crafted, and could have been in the same stylish league as THE CONJURING (2013), but the ending is fumbled. Like THE WITCH, this movie would have benefitted from more ambiguity. Is what we are watching in the protagonists’ heads? And if so, all the leads or just some/one? Those are the questions being asked through much of the runtime. Having a conclusive answer, and a big climax (relative to the rest of the measured majority), actually feels anticlimactic.
The Graham family are beaten down. They are physically and emotionally crumpled. Anyone with empathy can understand how such a unit can be put through the wringer, whether it is as a result of mistreatment or financial strains or illness or tragedy. Everyone barely speaks. Everyone is an island in the household.
We meet them on the day of a funeral. Ellen, the mother of Annie (Toni Collette), is being laid to rest. Ellen appears to have been a disturbing burden on the Grahams. There are hints at abuse. Annie was not able to shield her own children, so the cycle continued. Through conversations, we hear about Ellen and other past events, but do not witness them ourselves. In other circumstances, such a tactic might be considered lazy writing. Here, it skilfully makes us do the imaginative leap, as well as wonder about the reliability/bias of the testimony. If the truth, that is upsetting. If a fabrication, it is upsetting in a different way. Impressive. Ellen is talked about, but not met.
As with so many entertaining horror flicks, HEREDITARY makes you afraid of something that is both prevalent and not obviously the enemy: RINGU (1998) watching videos, IT FOLLOWS (2014) having sex, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) going to sleep, etc. HEREDITARY makes you afraid of your very genes. The protagonists are seemingly combatting their own genetics and upbringing. The film taps into mental health fears. It is still a taboo, and still credibility damaging. There is still not enough understanding of the human mind, and still not enough societal support.
HEREDITARY would have been a small-scale achievement if it had stuck with its creepy, polished visuals. The film loses its way when the supernatural stuff increases in volume. There is a lack of coherence to the malevolent paranormal powers. The movie suddenly crams in exposition quickly, after conveniently finding some books. The ending feels muddled, but maybe a second viewing will illuminate? (Though, I won’t be watching at night again.)