Tag: The Witch

Critical Divide: Why Audiences and Critics are Split on Hereditary

Critical Divide Why Critics and Audiences are Split on Hereditary

Last week, Hereditary finished within the top 5 at the U.S. box office, with its $13 million domestic gross setting a record as independent movie studio A24’s largest opening ever. A24 is responsible for some extremely well-regarded movies such as the Oscar Best Picture winner Moonlight, and similarly praised films such as Ex Machina, The Disaster Artist, and Lady Bird to name a few, proving this record to be no small feat. Additionally Hereditary scored an astronomically high 92% Rotten Tomatoes score as well as an arguably even more impressive score of 86 on Metacritic (and a perfect 4 star rating from Cinematic Insights). Despite all of this overwhelming acclaim, the film received an atrocious D+ CinemaScore from audiences, which is very much at odds with what critics have been praising about the film. This result begs the question of why this discrepancy exists.

Here are the 4 reasons why audiences and critics are split on Hereditary.

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Hereditary Review

Hereditary Review

4 out of 4 stars (4 / 4)

Hereditary is a game changing horror masterpiece that subverts all tropes and expectations associated with the demonic possession subgenre, delivering a tightly wound story that explodes with haunting imagery you will not soon forget.

Hereditary, which marks the feature directorial debut of Ari Aster, has been receiving rave reviews for several months now since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Critics have been heralding the film as the next Exorcist with many claiming it to be one of the most terrifying films of all time. Although this sort of hype is always enticing to hear, too often in the past have other horror films, such as It Follows and The Witch received similar accolades and have not quite lived up to this acclaim. Both of these films were without a doubt strong entries in the horror genre, but both were somewhat overblown in terms of their impact on the genre, resulting in an initially disappointing reaction from myself. This is not the case with Hereditary, as Ari Aster has crafted a truly game changing cinematic masterpiece that subverts any expectations you might have about this seemingly familiar story until arriving at a chilling conclusion that will haunt your dreams forever.

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A Quiet Place Review

A Quiet Place Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

Upon initial glance, A Quiet Place seems mundanely familiar and it would be understandable why a viewer might relegate the film as a story they have seen countless times before. In the last few years alone films like The Witch, Don’t Breath, and last year’s It Comes at Night have had similar features to A Quiet Place, whether it be the familial struggle in the wilderness or being forced to remain quiet in order to evade a dangerous force. The horror genre is indeed a crowded category and it is understandable why many might believe it to be devoid of original ideas, but A Quiet Place demonstrates that this is not the case. The film, which marks John Krasinski’s first directorial picture with a major studio, maximizes its clever setting and well-acted characters to deliver a taut thriller that breaks many horror conventions leading the viewer to never be confident of where the film will go next.

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