Horror fans rejoice! I was lucky enough to catch an advance screening of this one at TIFF. I’ve had my eye on this movie ever since its festival run got the hype train in motion. I can safely say that this is a horror movie that’s going to make waves. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a horror movie that was this unnerving.

If you’ve seen any of Ari Aster’s short films, you’ll have any idea of what you’re getting yourself into, but if not, brace yourself. This is one hell of a feature debut. This movie isn’t all that groundbreaking story-wise, and there’s a lot that’s been lovingly lifted from past classics of the genre. However, Aster is a master at atmosphere from the opening scene to the last and this film has some of the most haunting imagery I’ve ever seen.

I don’t want to say anything away regarding the story, but this is a great slow burn that dives into a complete nightmare by the final act. The film is also anchored by some seriously impressive performances all around, particularly the wildly underrated Toni Collette who gives it her absolute all. I’m really excited for this one to come out and I highly recommend those with a penchant for spooky check this one out!

I look forward to this one. Looks like a slow-burn, that's for sure, but like you said with some haunting imagery. Glad to hear that you thought it was worth the watch, I still can't tell if I'm gonna enjoy it based on the trailers (which I hope don't give too much away).

I can't wait for this. I’ve prebooked my tickets for its release next week. I'm expecting good things.

Did you see this:

https://variety.com/2018/film/news/movie-theater-hereditary-trailer-peter-rabbit-1202788535/

Probably scarred some kids for life. Funny, but not funny.

Pre-booked your tickets, Warren? Now that's keen.
Looks pretty scary.

Quoted from LC Did you see this: https://variety.com/2018/film/news/movie-theater-hereditary-trailer-peter-rabbit-1202788535/ Probably scarred some kids for life. Funny, but not funny. Pre-booked your tickets, Warren? Now that's keen. Looks pretty scary.

Yeah heard all about it, pretty funny.

I get so excited every time one of these super hyped up horrors come out, like It Follows, Raw and The Babadook, problem is that they mostly tend to be let downs. I have a really good feeling about this one though.

While the early booking was mostly due to excitement, it was also because Event Cinema had cheap tickets :)

Quoted from Warren I get so excited every time one of these super hyped up horrors come out, like It Follows, Raw and The Babadook, problem is that they mostly tend to be let downs.

Yeah, those 3 movies all sucked pretty much, probably due to me going in expecting way too much.

Hmm, I was intrigued by Warren's mention of Raw. Watched the trailer...

Looks a bit 'body horror', not sure I'm up for that.

I thought I was going to start a thread about this one lol....been looking forward to it for ever...even the reviews are unnerving... and I love Toni Collete.

I watched this on Friday night and have given it a few days to settle in.

I'm still not completely sure how I feel about it. It looks and sounds amazing. It's visually stunning with some really haunting scenes. Well acted for the most part.

There really is a lot to like. It's a huge decent into madness.

But if I'm being completely honest, I didn't love it and I really wanted to.

While there are some really horrific scenes I felt myself asking how they fit into the bigger picture. I've read a few explanations after the fact and while I understand the film as a whole I still don't know why a lot of things happened.

I also wasn't a massive fan of the ending, as in the very last scene.

So, would I recommend it? Hell yes! It's still great and the few issues I had with it are easy to overlook.

It's a slow burn horror that is pulling the genre in a better direction than I feel it's been going for a long while.

I think we can expect some big things from Ari Aster in the future.

I'm with you on everything you mentioned Warren.

My wife and I are still pretty haunted by it lol... it gets under your skin so perfectly even with its imperfections.... I've listened to alot of reviews and breakdowns along with interviews with Ari and the cast and definitely want to see it again. So much was missed due to the sheer horror of it.

I think watching it again will be a whole other experience now knowing what its really about...

Just saw the matinee today and loved much of it. The camera and sound were spot on. The tongue clicking creeped me right the F out. Toni Collette was amazing as well. Surprised at home much a backseat Gabriel Byrne took in this.

Definitely some original shock factor in this that, like Warren, made you wonder 'why' but it all comes around nicely at the end. A second viewing will be interesting knowing what I know now.

Didn't know before seeing it that it was filmed in my old stomping grounds of Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah. It really brought it home.

Two thumbs up!

This is what I remember horror movies being like. It felt like I was watching Rosemary's Baby or something classic like that. It built complex characters with complex interpersonal dynamics and still felt gripping and relentless. Every moment of every scene was filled with a sense of dread.

I'd forgotten that feeling. Actual dread instead of just fear of being jump scared. First A Quiet Place and now this... are horror movies going to not suck now?

Overall, it was excellent.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I found myself laughing at a few points, and most of the cinema joined me, so it did cross the "uncanny valley" line at times.

I was somewhat surprised that the director stated outright that is a completely literal film. For me it was a better piece being ambiguous.. Were the family just suffering from a hereditary mental illness whilst also being preyed upon.

From that level they're were all  sorts of interesting interpretations. From a literal point of view, it's much less interesting and layered.

Personally I would have liked it if we didn't see the spirit enter the lad at the end. That would have left all possible interpretations open.. From that level the family members could all have been experiencing a psychotic episode preceded by that strange blue light.

As it was it reduces it to a standard Rosemary's Baby clone, albeit extremely well made.

I liked it quite a bit. I wasn't sure where it was going at first, which was a breath of fresh air (at least until it got predictable, which was, IMO, almost as soon as the "medium" showed up). Lots of creepy and outright ghastly scenes as well, which is always a plus for me.

Might be a bit slow for some people, but I really enjoyed it and thought the pacing of it was just about right. I definitely will be getting the BluRay when it's out.

  

Just seen this and have to say I came out shaking my head.

Sure it has some decent scenes and some arresting imagery, cast are all great... but the plot, where is it exactly?

So some shadowy cult want to move Pieman from one host to another, and this convoluted, overblown, nonsense is how they do it???

What's wrong with the traditional way, altar, sacrificial goat etc.

There are just so many plot developments that make no sense whatsoever, and I had such high hopes -(

Quoted from AnthonyCawood There are just so many plot developments that make no sense whatsoever, and I had such high hopes -(

This was my biggest issue with the film. So much stuff just happened because...

Quoted from AnthonyCawood but the plot, where is it exactly? So some shadowy cult want to move Pieman from one host to another, and this convoluted, overblown, nonsense is how they do it??? What's wrong with the traditional way, altar, sacrificial goat etc. There are just so many plot developments that make no sense whatsoever, and I had such high hopes -(

I more or less agree with this. This movie had a lot of things going for it. However, it tried to pack in too many scares and scary sequences. If they played it more like a drama, the reveal would mean so much more. But that's not marketable enough.

Quoted Text So some shadowy cult want to move Pieman from one host to another, and this convoluted, overblown, nonsense is how they do it??? What's wrong with the traditional way, altar, sacrificial goat etc.

Wasn't that exactly what they did, just in a less cheesy way?

We see the remains of an animal sacrifice on an altar in the witch's apartment, which she used to curse Peter, which in turn allowed King Paimon to possess him.

The only thing I'm wondering about is whether Charlie had to die to complete the ritual (i.e. if the brother hadn't accidentally killed her beforehand, would the cult have done it themselves?)

I echo what others have said above and the general consensus in that there is obvious filmmaking craft here, its genuinely scary in parts, has great performances but loses it in the final 20 minutes by over explaining everything. It just felt drawn out and not scary. Rosemary's Baby it ain't.

Quoted from ReaperCreeper The only thing I'm wondering about is whether Charlie had to die to complete the ritual (i.e. if the brother hadn't accidentally killed her beforehand, would the cult have done it themselves?)

- There is a brief shot, when Peter and Charlie are driving to the party, of the post that decapitates Charlie later on and it has the cult's symbol on it. To me, that suggests the cult's involvement through supernatural intervention...and the strategic placing of a dog ;).

Quoted from Colkurtz8 - There is a brief shot, when Peter and Charlie are driving to the party, of the post that decapitates Charlie later on and it has the cult's symbol on it. To me, that suggests the cult's involvement through supernatural intervention...and the strategic placing of a dog ;).

Hey, good catch. That would put a nice subtle touch to the power/influence of the cult. I'll have to find some time to rewatch that scene.

This is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

I started watching it a couple weeks ago, and literally fell asleep, it was so dull and plodding.

Feeling a little under the weather today, so decided to give it my full attention.  Although I started feeling like I was going to fall asleep again, I made it through the entire movie.

Not really sure why so many are praising this so highly.  It's very slow, very dull and actually quite hard to follow and understand...and when the actual plot/story is revealed, I really couldn't care less.

A couple serious complaints that surely didn't help how I felt about this.

1)  So completely obvious that this was filmed on a set, and not a real house.  Every INT scene looked so fake, it took me out of the film completely.

2)  When Charlie is decapitated, it's so obvious that it couldn't have gone down like that, as her head was barely outside the window, yet only her head is hit by the pole, and not the side mirror or any of the side of the car.

3)  The end - WTF?  Really?  Although I "had a clue what this all meant", I had to check out IMDB to be sure, and that's never a good thing.

Not for me at all.  I see no replay value here whatsoever and this one will be quickly forgotten.

Grade - C

Jeff,

How you feel about this movie is exactly the way I felt about It Comes at Night, only I actually liked Hereditary and didn't like It Comes at Night. It does seem to be a current trend to make new horror films deliberately slow-paced and a bit vague in story. I think that's why Get Out felt like a breath of fresh air to a lot of people, even though it was a fairly "typical" horror movie and probably would've been considered cheesy and dumb had it come out 10 years ago.

Many people really hate it, but in the end I think the slow-burn mentality simply sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. But that does seem to be "the fad" nowadays. What usually results is a massive discrepancy between critic and audience consensus, which is bizarre to me... I mean, we're talking about horror films.

1) I didn't notice that at all, will definitely have to look out for it next time. Although it makes sense that this would be so in a way, since the whole movie opens with a trick shot of the house's miniature model. I guess they wanted to have a real 1-to-1 correlation between the miniature and the "real" house, so they went the safer route with sets.
2) GAH! That's totally true. Damn you for making me notice lol. They even make a point to show the car afterwards and there's barely a scratch on it. Although Charlie wasn't barely outside the window the way I remember it. Her hands were on the door with her whole upper body out the window. But yes, that car totally would've suffered some sort of damage.

I'm not sure if it will be forgotten quickly yet or not. If nothing else Toni Collette's been getting a lot of attention over it. Also, it was done by a first-time feature director, which I think is mighty impressive all things considered.