Hereditary Review: 6 Ups And 3 Downs

2. Toni Collette's Unhinged, Bold Performance

If there's any major takeaway from this movie performance-wise, it's that Toni Collette deserves every bit of recognition and praise she gets. While the supporting cast does strong work as well, it's Collette's movie. Her ability to play someone so sympathetic, but also completely reprehensible and terrifying all at different points is a testament to her great work here. She will motivate every kind of emotion from you by the end of the film.

It's not the only comparison to make between this film and 2014's 'The Babadook', but Collette's performance in Hereditary reminds a lot of Essie Davis's mother character in that film. A character so full of raw, unfiltered emotions that eventually get released in powerful fashion. The primary difference between the two is that Collette isn't entirely a well-meaning but flawed mother. She is nasty at times, utterly broken internally, and isn't above admitting her resentment of one of her children's existence.

This is not the ideal mother, and certainly never quite feels like one either. Collette expertly portrays this flawed character, making her moments of love and pure vitriol work equally-well.