Scary" isn't the right descriptor for Hereditary, director Ari Aster's feature debut and the creeptastic movie destined to be this summer's art-house horror movie, in the manner of It Follows or The Babadook.
Now, let me be clear: That's not to say it isn't scary. I'm a generally phlegmatic moviegoer, but the first time I saw Hereditary I yelped a lot, and very nearly crawled under my seat once or twice, to the bemusement of my viewing companions.
But mostly I just felt really weirded out, which is what the movie wants. If you're going into Hereditary looking for a "scary movie," you're doing it wrong. Better descriptors might be "uncanny," or "unnerving," or "vexing," or "devilish." It's half supernatural horror film, half startlingly realistic drama about a family dealing with grief, and it wants to make you feel marvelously, deliciously uncomfortable for a whole host of reasons, only some of which are about the scary bits.
