Hereditary (4 Stars)

This is a difficult film for me to review without giving away spoilers. It's a horror film, but it changes direction frequently, moving seamlessly from sub-genre to sub-genre. If I wanted to explain the film I'd have to tell you most of the plot.

Annie Graham is an artist who makes miniature models based on real life. Her creations look like doll houses, but they're much more detailed. When her mother dies she deals with it by making miniature models of her. Less than a week after the funeral her mother's body is stolen from the grave, but Annie's husband Steve doesn't tell her about it. There are apparitions in the house. Annie sees her mother, which drives her to the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Soon afterwards Annie's daughter Charlie is killed in a car accident. Annie blames her son Peter, the driver, for Charlie's death. Peter blames Annie, because she had made him take Charlie to a party she didn't want to go to. This drives Annie closer to despair. At a support group for people who are mourning a lost one she meets a woman called Joan who teaches her a ritual which will summon Charlie.

I'll stop there. The plot has twists and turns all the way to the final scene.

The film has an atmosphere of foreboding throughout. The Graham family lives in such a creepy old house in the woods that I would have nightmares even without anyone dying. The film overwhelmed me. I need to see it again.