In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Director:
Andy Muschietti
Stars:
Bill Skarsgård,
Jaeden Lieberher,
Finn Wolfhard
A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.
Director:
Jordan Peele
Stars:
Daniel Kaluuya,
Allison Williams,
Bradley Whitford
A father and son, both coroners, are pulled into a complex mystery while attempting to identify the body of a young woman, who was apparently harboring dark secrets.
The enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.
Director:
Panos Cosmatos
Stars:
Nicolas Cage,
Andrea Riseborough,
Linus Roache
Laurie Strode confronts her long-time foe Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
Director:
David Gordon Green
Stars:
Jamie Lee Curtis,
Judy Greer,
Andi Matichak
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter's family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.
Ari has been writing screenplays from a very young age, but eventually realized he would want to be the one to direct what he'd written. See more »
Goofs
When Annie begins the seance with Peter and Steve, the candle on the table isn't lit but once the camera cuts away and comes back to the table, the candle is now lit with the flame clearly visible. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Steve:
Come on, Peter. Wake up.
See more »
The mounting hype for the official release of 'Hereditary' reached stratospheric-proportions. However, it is in your best interests to check those expectations at the door prior to viewing the film. Multiple outlets went as far as to tout this Ari Aster creation as the next 'Exorcist.' Not only is that level of expectation unfair to the product, but they were released in different eras of storytelling, and the plots are very different.
There will never be another horror film created that will shock audiences as 'The Exorcist' did in 1973. It changed the face of horror, all of film, forever. To be fair, had this film been released in the 70's, we would see overwhelmed, frightened fans being rushed to emergency rooms in the same way as following the release of 'The Exorcist.' Yes, both films release demons from hell through possession, but they do so in entirely different ways.
Which brings us to reason No. 2 to disregard pre-release comparisons: the level of 'scary' reported and, as a result, expected will take away from your experience. Is 'Hereditary' the scariest movie ever? Absolutely not. It's likely not even the scariest film of 2018. However, that should not give the impression that the film is not disturbingly scary. Aster mostly forgoes the cliche jump scares in favor of dementedly-unnerving events that will haunt your thoughts. Some moments so cleverly filmed that you may not even realize the level of frightening until sometime after viewing the film.
If viewed without expectations, you will leave the theatre satisfied, with the knowledge that this can be considered as another fine example of the recent high-quality, uniquely-imagined independent horror story releases. The acting is top-notch, the production is near flawless, and, short of a few complaints with the presentation of the ending, the direction should excite everyone looking ahead to future genre films from Aster. Simply a must-see film.
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The mounting hype for the official release of 'Hereditary' reached stratospheric-proportions. However, it is in your best interests to check those expectations at the door prior to viewing the film. Multiple outlets went as far as to tout this Ari Aster creation as the next 'Exorcist.' Not only is that level of expectation unfair to the product, but they were released in different eras of storytelling, and the plots are very different.
There will never be another horror film created that will shock audiences as 'The Exorcist' did in 1973. It changed the face of horror, all of film, forever. To be fair, had this film been released in the 70's, we would see overwhelmed, frightened fans being rushed to emergency rooms in the same way as following the release of 'The Exorcist.' Yes, both films release demons from hell through possession, but they do so in entirely different ways.
Which brings us to reason No. 2 to disregard pre-release comparisons: the level of 'scary' reported and, as a result, expected will take away from your experience. Is 'Hereditary' the scariest movie ever? Absolutely not. It's likely not even the scariest film of 2018. However, that should not give the impression that the film is not disturbingly scary. Aster mostly forgoes the cliche jump scares in favor of dementedly-unnerving events that will haunt your thoughts. Some moments so cleverly filmed that you may not even realize the level of frightening until sometime after viewing the film.
If viewed without expectations, you will leave the theatre satisfied, with the knowledge that this can be considered as another fine example of the recent high-quality, uniquely-imagined independent horror story releases. The acting is top-notch, the production is near flawless, and, short of a few complaints with the presentation of the ending, the direction should excite everyone looking ahead to future genre films from Aster. Simply a must-see film.