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CHICAGO – Society, or at least certain elements of society, are always looking for scapegoats to hide the sins of themselves and authority. In the so-called “great America” of the 1950s, the scapegoat target was comic books … specifically through a sociological study called “The Seduction of the Innocent.” City Lit Theater Company, in part two of a trilogy on comic culture by Mark Pracht, presents “The Innocence of Seduction … now through October 8th, 2023. For details and tickets, click COMIC BOOK.
Film Review: Toni Collette Discovers that Horror is ‘Hereditary’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 8, 2018 - 6:26pm
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“Hereditary” opens everywhere on June 8th. Featuring Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Milly Shapiro and Ann Dowd. Written and directed by Ari Aster. Rated “R”
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Hereditary”
Annie (Toni Collette) Experiences a Crazy Little Thing Called ‘Hereditary’
Photo credit: A24
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Hereditary”
Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version
CHICAGO – The classic horror/psychological films continue to chill our souls long after the experience of them. “Hereditary” uses a masterful performance by Toni Collette, and layers it with symbolic commentary and freaky scares to accomplish that lingering discomfort. After viewing it, the cluck of the tongue will never be the same.
 Rating: 4.5/5.0 |
Collette’s character is a mess, and it was established that she had been a mess for many years. But the tipping point she goes into is a revelation of performance… there were so many tics and challenges of her psyche that I’m surprised TC stayed sane. This is a classic horror film that has echoes of “Rosemary’s Baby,” but goes into another one-of-a-kind and sinister direction. The supporting cast – Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd and intense young newcomer Milly Shapiro are so reactive to Collette’s cues that the ensemble seems of one mind. This is the first feature film for writer/director Ari Aster, and it is a legend, to be compartmentalized and analyzed for many years to come.
The elderly mother of Annie (Toni Collette) has just died, and her family of husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), son Peter (Alex Wolff) and daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) goes to her funeral without a sense of closure. Annie is an artist who specializes in miniature scene recreations, but as the stress of a new exhibit starts to weigh on her head, she begins to see visions of her dead mother.
Charlie is a hopeless outsider, rejected by her 13 year old peers. Annie attempts to have her assimilate by forcing older brother Peter to take his sister to a party. Left to her own devices at the event, she eats something that runs counter to her peanut allergy, and when Peter is told, it becomes a race to see if he can get her to emergency. The result of that incident throws everything into a tailspin, and long-buried secrets emerge.
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Hereditary”Annie (Toni Collette) Experiences a Crazy Little Thing Called ‘Hereditary’
Photo credit: A24
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Hereditary”
