The Anointed Ones

There was a time when horror movies were never meant to be entertaining or funny. The most effective ones tap into our deepest fears and bring them to the surface, making us behave like irrational children and doing silly things such as leaving the light on or pulling our bed covers over our heads at night due to our overactive imaginations.  Nevertheless, many contemporary horror movies all too often turn out to be self-parodies, whether intentionally or not, resulting in experiences that are more funny than scary.  Oh, how I yearn for the days of yore!

 

First-time director Ari Aster aims to go back to how things used to be in his debut feature-length horror film, ‘Hereditary.’  A splash at the last Sundance Film Festival, this art-house indie gem from A24 starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro has been billed by some critics as the most terrifying movie since ‘The Exorcist.’  Well, I’ll be the judge of that.  ‘Hereditary’ centers on the dysfunctional Graham family (dysfunction is the least of their problems, believe me) as they cope with loss and an escalating series of inexplicable and unnerving events.  Sure, you can skip the movie and read all about it in Wikipedia instead, but then I’ll have to call you a big chicken while flapping my elbows and making “bok, bok, bok” noises.

 

I’m still not sure if ‘Heredity’ is the scariest film since ‘The Exorcist’ because the list of horror movies I’ve seen is a long and distinguished one, but I can certainly see why the comparison was made.  ‘Hereditary’ harks back to that golden age of vintage horror movies exemplified by such films as ‘The Exorcist,’ ‘The Shining,' The Omen’ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby.’  It is unsettling, unnerving, and really, really scary.  The film’s overall slow pace is interspersed throughout by a series of shocking WTF! moments, often without exposition, making us wonder in fear and confusion until things manage to tie up in the end (though not to everyone's satisfaction).  The best horror movies are ones that make our skin crawl and leave a mark on our psyche.  'Hereditary' does just that even if not all of us get it.

Grade: A