Hereditary (2018)

Audiences walked out of Hereditary and handed it a D+ CinemaScore, which is the most honest reaction a horror movie can get. This is not a fun scary movie. It’s a grief movie that turns scary, and the last act gets so busy explaining itself that it trades dread for a lecture. Until then, it’s brutal. Toni Collette is unreal, and a family dinner where she finally unloads on her son is scarier than anything supernatural in the movie. Alex Wolff spends the whole thing looking like a kid who knows he’s in trouble and can’t figure out why. Ari Aster keeps cutting to Annie’s tiny model rooms, so the whole family starts to look like dolls somebody else is moving around. It made $90.4 million worldwide on a reported $10 million budget. An 8.0 because the first two acts are as good as horror gets and the ending explains a little too much. $769 says you hear a tongue click in a quiet room this month and leave immediately.

What works: Toni Collette’s ferocious performance, the dinner scene, and dread that builds without cheap jump scares.

What doesn’t: The final act spells out its mythology so thoroughly that the mystery deflates right when it should peak.

Who it’s for: Horror fans who want to be rattled for days, not people looking for a fun Friday night scare.