Supernatural Horror On Netflix Pushes R-Rating To Mind-Breaking Edge
A side effect of watching enough horror films is that it becomes increasingly difficult to actually get scared. Once you’ve laughed at the massive body counts of the genre’s most infamous slashers, it can be difficult for a film to deliver genuinely freaky frights. Fortunately, there are still a few directors who know how to combine visceral horror and psychological terror into a film even scarier than the sum of its body parts. One such movie is Ari Aster’s Hereditary, and you can now stream the screams for yourself on Netflix.
The Horrors Of Hereditary
As a bit of spooky cinema, Hereditary distinguishes itself from most similar genre fare on Netflix with a plot about a frayed family who is continuously coming apart at the seams. The shocking death of someone close to them threatens to turn this familiar tear into familial terror, prompting the mother of the family to look closer into the life and death of her own reclusive mom. She suddenly finds herself in a race to find the right answers, and losing that race might mean losing more than her life…it might, in fact, cost the woman her immortal soul.
Another way that Hereditary stands out from other horror offerings on Netflix is its amazing cast, starting with Toni Collette as the mother at the center of her family’s suffering. She is joined by silver screen veterans Gabriel Byrne (who plays her husband) and Ann Dowd (a new friend her character meets after her mother dies). Arguably, though, the real stars of this show are the younger cast members, including Alex Wolff as a traumatized teen and Milly Shapiro as his precociously weird sister.
Hereditary was Ari Aster’s debut film, and it’s striking just how slick the whole thing is. Not only does it look far better than your average spooky flick on Netflix, but the plot gives you plenty to think about as you peer at one horrific scene after another through the hands over your eyes. Fortunately for Aster’s film career, his deadly debut was a smash hit, earning $87.8 million against a lean budget of only $10 million. This box office success secured Aster as a modern horror auteur, and he followed up on Hereditary with Midsommar, a film different in execution but similar in terrifying tone.
Another thing that Hereditary can say that most Netflix horror films cannot is that it was critically beloved, even at the time of its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critical score of 90 percent. In general, critics praised the movie for its ability to turn a simple horror premise into something that will inevitably haunt you long after the film has ended.
Why Hereditary Is Worth Your Time
It’s worth noting that Hereditary is one of the few horror films that seemingly impressed critics more than audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the Popcornmeter for this film shows that audiences gave it a much lower score of 71 percent. Some casual moviegoers disliked the movie’s slow-burn nature, and others thought it wrapped itself in the “elevated horror” label as a shield against what might otherwise be legitimate criticism.
Now, I can respect people who are wary of “elevated horror,” a bloody nothingburger of a phrase that has become part of the empty marketing for scary films with even emptier premises. That doesn’t describe Hereditary, though…this is a film that wisely revels in the slow reveal of horrific moments that only occur when audience dread is at its peak. It’s not the kind of thing you’ll enjoy if you only like slashers or other more action-oriented horror films, but it’s absolutely perfect for those with an open mind.
Plus, I can say with complete confidence that Hereditary is better than almost any other horror film you can stream on Netflix. The streamer is rife with direct-to-digital drudgery that continuously fuels all those think pieces and video essays about why the films of yesteryear are so much better than the films of today. Ari Aster’s debut film, though, is full of killer actors, beautiful shots, and plot twists sure to leave you screaming.
HEREDITARY REVIEW SCORE
Will you find Hereditary as captivating as I did when you watch it on Netflix, or is this the kind of film you’d rather see decapitated in a horrific road accident? Well, you won’t know until you stream it for yourself. And if anyone watching with you begins making weird clucking noises in the back of their throat as the credits roll, just take my advice and start running immediately.
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