Hereditary

          Writer/director Ari Aster evokes classic psychological horror films (like Rosemary's Baby or The Sixth Sense) with this tale of a haunted family slowly unraveling from the opening moments. Toni Collette and Gabriel Bryne are Annie and Steve Graham. They live in a beautiful home isolated in the Utah woods with their children, teenager Peter (Alex Wolff) and 13 year old Charlie (Milly Shapiro).

           The film begins with the obituary of Annie's mother Ellen and quickly moves to the funeral and its aftermath. Mr. Aster creates a sense of growing dread from those opening scenes and never lets up.

            Unexpected further tragedy occurs, in an absolutely horrific scene, and the family's descent into madness truly begins with Annie and Peter affected the most. Ms. Shapiro plays Charlie as a very creepy little girl but as things progress, it's Annie and Peter that really start to go off the deep end. There are flashes of genuine terror that Mr. Aster reveals slowly in subtle but terrifying ways. The score and camerawork brilliantly help raise audience goosebumps throughout culminating in an insane final act that you will either accept or find completely ridiculous.

            Ms. Collette is just fantastic as her character realistically unravels under the weight of her circumstances. Mr. Wolff is also terrific for the same reason. Only Mr. Byrne, a wonderful actor, is wasted as the character of Steve is so underwritten, it could have been played by a tree.  Co-star Anne Dowd is effectively creepy as Joan, a woman Annie meets at a grief support group.

               Mr. Aster shows great promise with this effective first effort. He keeps the violence and gore to a minimum using using the effects very strategically. Instead, he relies on atmosphere, music and strong acting to grab his audience and never let go.