Review: "Hereditary"

by Chris Feil

Hereditary gives so much: a bold lead performance from Toni Collette, genuine skin-crawling scares, and a stream of ominously manicured imagery to obsess over on multiple viewings. And yet its mightiest power is how and when it withholds. Layers revealed in its central family mystery only yield more questions and terrifying unreconciled implications on its descent into madness. You think at first the film is keeping you at arm’s length, when really it is picking you up by the shoulders and placing you down precisely where it knows it will unnerve you most. Letting it get its sadistic claws on you is simply one of the year’s essential cinematic experiences.

The feature debut of writer/director Ari Aster, Hereditary is uncommonly patient in delivering on its horrific promises. The film is less of a slow burn than an enticing bear trap, meditatively luring the audience with all of its pieces before suddenly closing its jaws on us with furious velocity. But that’s the thing about nightmares: rarely do they announce their punishment immediately. Hereditary is as wise and calculating as a demon ready to pounce.

Click to read more ...

Toni Collette meets superfan John Early

Chris here, tiptoeing out of the bubble I've placed myself in to avoid Hereditary plot details. The horror film is coming this summer and, per Sundance audiences, is best entered completely in the blind about its scares - including a raved-to-the-heavens performance from Toni Collette. To get the promotional ball rolling on the film, distrib A24 had Collette sit down for their podcast with none other than genius comedian and noted Collette superfan John Early. To those unawares, one of Early's signature bits is recalling his teenage years when he created a fansite for the actress on GeoCities. Stars, they're just like us!

While A24 seems to be stoking the potential for an Oscar campaign for Collette that some reviews have begged, we'll do our best to keep hopes at bay. (She already pulled off the uncommon feat of an acting nomination for a horror film once, so twice is all the more uncommon.) But I suspect the performance will be one we'll be talking a lot about once the film arrives on June 8. Listen to Toni and John talk fandom and Hereditary here.

New episode of The A24 Podcast tomorrow! @bejohnce tells Toni Collette all about the Geocities fansite he ran for her as a not-yet-openly-gay 13 year-old. Tears are shed, gifts are exchanged, @HereditaryMovie is hyped pic.twitter.com/X9ahUYiMIb

— A24 (@A24) April 25, 2018

"Hereditary" and Toni Collette Lurking

by Chris Feil

This year has made for a quiet Sundance Film Festival, no? While there seems to be less word on major deals and potential Oscar players in the year to come, one premiere that has quickly become must-see material is Ari Aster's horror debut Hereditary. Cryptic reviews have promised genuine genre scares and (much to our excitement) a worthy showcase for Toni Collette. Collette's co-stars include Ann Dowd and Gabriel Byrne.

The film centers on a family after the death of their not-so-beloved grandmother. Her artist daughter (played by Collette) deals with the increasingly spooky fallout...

Click to read more ...