I’ve spent a lot of time watching and ranking horror movies. When I made Creepy Catalog’s list of the 34 scariest movies of all time, every movie on the list had at least one moment that evokes an over-the-top fear response in the audience. But there was one movie that had so many disturbing moments it clearly deserved the #1 spot.
Next week that horror movie hits Netflix.
Hereditary (2018) was director Ari Aster’s (Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) feature directorial debut. It follows a grieving family who fracture in the wake of a series of tragic losses. The heavy emotions (which should have earned star Toni Collette an Oscar) play off of sudden scares and build up to a sinister finale unlike anything most movie fans have ever seen.
You won’t have to wait long for Hereditary to hit you hard — the first horrific scene occurs only 30 minutes into the film. Not only is it shocking, but how the characters handle what happens is viscerally upsetting and hard to sit through. Know that this is only setting the stage for even more horror to come.
It’s rare for Netflix to have truly scary horror movies on the service, so movie fans should make plans to watch this standout while they can. Of the 34 scariest movies of all time, Hereditary will be the *only* one streaming on Netflix. (Though if you’d like suggestions: all of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix shows are elite, Creep (2014) and Creep 2 (2017) are top tier found footage horror movies, and The Wailing (2016) is one of the best horror movies of the 2010s).
Hereditary will be available to stream on Netflix on Jan. 15.
