How horror in the eye of the beholder: The 'Hereditary' backlash

Every once and a while, a movie comes out that the critics embrace but audiences find divisive, and eventually that disparate reaction metastasizes into a much more unpleasant self-fulfilling kind of public debate where you are either for or against a film, and either side bitterly resents the other.

This happened with La La Land. It happened with The Last Jedi, and more recently Solo. And now, for some reason, it's happening with the critically acclaimed horror movie Hereditary.

I was listening to a podcast this morning, which I usually enjoy, and then towards the end the host and guest began to mercilessly rip the movie -- calling it unintentionally funny and a poorly constructed mess.

It was as if they had seen a completely different movie than I did. Not only did I really enjoy Hereditary (and found parts of it quite scary), I felt like it had some real originality and staying power, which is sometimes rare in a genre movie. I thought Toni Collette gave an Oscar-worthy lead performance, and I thought the ending -- which certainly unconventional -- was worth stewing over.

I knew that audiences had been cooler on the movie than critics, and I chalked a lot of that up to people coming into the movie with very strong expectations that were not borne out. I guess I just don't approach movies that way. I saw the trailer, thought it looked real creepy, and I largely avoided reviews because I didn't want anything spoiled for me.

The final result couldn't disappoint in some ways because I didn't really have any specific expectations. The movie surprised me and involved me, and I was happy to have seen it. And now, I find myself in the strange position for having to defend my fandom for it, which is a real bummer.

It seems nowadays there are no films that there is a consensus around, but maybe there never were. I remember for a while Mad Max: Fury Road was the one recent film I could remember seeing that I never heard any detractors for, but then I met one at a party and thought -- yup, that one too.

Of course, there were haters for The Godfather and Star Wars in their day too, but there is something more malicious about opinions now, it's as if it's not enough to say a movie didn't work for you personally, you now must denounce the idea of a movie working for anyone, and suggest that if you do like a movie you must me an idiot.

With horror especially, I feel like the experience is so subjective. The Shining -- my favorite movie of all time -- is technically a scary movie, but I have met plenty of people who have casually dismissed it as not scary. It's definitely more a film concerned with a psychological mood than jump scares. It had only one death in it and a truly strange, ambiguous ending.

I know horror fans who are much more turned on by or freaked out by excessive, cartoonish gore. I know people who are more into spooky, supernatural stuff. And I know people who like more visceral, realistic body horror. And of course, some people like all of it.

Hereditary, which ambitiously (or foolishly, depending on your point of view) tries to combine both a somber family drama with a a conspiratorial, Rosemary's Baby-like possession plot line, is certainly not everyone's cup of tea when it comes to scary movies. Like I said in my earlier review, if you're looking for more of an audience pleaser -- A Quiet Place is the movie for you.

But, it's hard for me to understand completely dismissing the virtues of this film just because it doesn't conform to the expectations laid out in its trailer or live up the critical hype putting it on the same level as genre classics like The Exorcist.

I will concede that maybe not every movie in the moment works, that it's imperfect, but haters I think should also be able acknowledge that some or many elements might work for other viewers, if not themselves. For instance, I think the movie has an intentional, very subtle sense of humor -- it wants to be dip a toe into absurdity, very much the same way The Shining does -- that may not work for a lot of people, it worked for me.

What bums me out the most about this kind of scorched earth approach to weighing in on movies is that it discourages viewers from having their own unique experience with material. Now, more often than not, I talk to people who never give certain films a chance because they "heard they were terrible," and I am always disappointed to hear that excuse.

I am more appreciative of people who say 'I don't like scary movies' because that feels like a more honest representation of your own bias as a filmgoer, but to simply savage a movie that didn't appeal to you personally and to cast doubt on the judgment on anyone who did like it, seems hostile and irredeemably smug.

I'll give you a good example. A good friend of mine loves the 2004 Halle Berry Catwoman. I tease her about it mercilessly. I have seen it. I watched it a bit ironically since by the time I got around to it, the film was widely recognized as a massive dud. And I had fun with it as camp, although I indeed thought it was terrible. Still, I don't think less of my friend or her taste because she enjoys it.

Clearly, something about that film speaks to her and hits her sweet spot, and since that film isn't some sort of insidious piece of propaganda promoting fascistic ideals, I don't see there being any particular harm in her enjoying it.

In this social media age we're living in, where everyone has a hot take, it's hard to avoid very strong, contrarian opinion. I just wish there a willingness to respect that divergent opinions about films are welcome and interesting, and that time will ultimately do wonders for our sense of a film's quality.

Today, there are people who have re-approached Showgirls as a hidden masterpiece. There are even people who see redemptive qualities in the Star Wars prequels (even though I am not one of them). My point is all these opinions are valid -- film can't and shouldn't belong to any one person or be subjected to any singular point of view. It's only entertainment!