Film critics are lauding “Hereditary,” a new horror film from A24 starring Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne.
Collette and Byrne star as Annie and Steve Graham, the parents of a family that becomes haunted by sinister, supernatural forces and the dark secrets of their ancestry following the death of the family’s matriarch, Annie’s mother.
Written and directed by Ari Aster, the film is even receiving Oscar buzz for Collette’s performance, along with praise for Aster’s inflicting of “psychic damage” through innovations on horror genre tropes.
“Hereditary” currently has a 93% “fresh” rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
The film opens nationwide on Friday.
Here are several reviews of "Hereditary," which one critic is calling "a new generation's 'The Exorcist'":
"In its sense of poisoned family bloodlines, of the everyday invaded by unspeakable evil, of bonechilling terror you won't be able to shake, 'Hereditary' is a new horror landmark. Toni Collette should have Oscar calling."
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"In the end, horror and supernatural fans will certainly get their thrills, but it's the psychic damage on the screen that will make the film hard to forget.
David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle
"Hereditary is so refreshing in part because it invents its own scare vocabulary."
Inkoo Kang, Slate
"This remarkable directorial debut from Ari Aster builds on classical horror tropes - the occult, possession, mental illness - to craft its own unique spin on terror."
Sara Stewart, The New York Post
"A deeply unsettling film, the kind of horror movie that pulls from relatable human emotions like grief and resentment to ultimately become an absolute nightmare."
Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
"Collette's performance is staggering. She plays Annie as a woman who begins to wear her buried rage and guilt on the outside."
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
"It's pure emotional terrorism, gripping you with real horror, the unspeakable kind, and then imbuing the supernatural stuff with those feelings. It didn't play me like a fiddle. It slammed on my insides like a grand piano."
A.A. Dowd, The AV Club
"A harrowing story of unthinkable family tragedy that veers into the realm of the supernatural, 'Hereditary' takes its place as a new generation's 'The Exorcist' — for some, it will spin heads even more savagely."
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out
"When you pare away its demonic accoutrements, you're left with the most intractably nightmarish arena of all: hearth and home."
David Edelstein, New York Magazine
