Notable Cast: Toni
Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd
The A24 phenomenon is something truly interesting to behold
as a horror fan. The most recent wave of success in the genre is certainly not
limited to the surprise success of A24 in generating arthouse horror films, but
it is definitely a part of it. After The
Witch came out to critical (and box office) success, the studio decided to
roll with the punches and embrace their new found fame as an arthouse horror
company - even if they release more films than just genre work. Fast forward to
2018 and A24 is releasing one of the most hyped horror films of the year, Hereditary. Fascinatingly so, this film
is one that was garnering a lot of mainstream talk and not just from the usual
horror outlets. This was a film that generated quite the buzz on the film
festival circuit and everyone was
talking about it. This is potentially disastrous though. A film like Hereditary, with its more meticulous
approach to the genre, tends to create an intense divide in its viewers. It’s
either the best film of the year (critics are raving) or it’s the worst film of
the year (currently sitting at a D+ on CinemaScore) and there is very little in
between. For this horror aficionado, Hereditary
rests on the former end as one of the best of the year that’s brimming with
some of the most intense performances and unnerving sequences that horror is
likely to produce by the end of the calendar year. It’s truly effective and
horrific cinema, boiling with dramatic heft. It’s a film that is not to be
missed.