Of all film genres I think that probably horror is one of the easiest to do badly and most difficult to do well - particularly if one tries to have a new ‘take’ on the genre. There are just SO many tropes/conventions/cliches that can be easily used that the temptation to rely or use them for at least some part of the film can be very difficult to resist.
But this film was not like that. It is a fantastically gripping family saga which only at the very end goes into more traditional horror territory - and, somewhat to my surprise, pretty much successfully. For the bulk of the film it is as much a study in grief in the aftermath of traumatic family deaths, starting with the funeral of the matriarch of the family - a very largely unseen but, as it turns out, significantly malign presence in all the characters’ lives.
At the start the a[sect of the film that most attracted my attention was the soundtrack - and this continued pt be a major element and a very effective one, for the duration of the film. The sounds were a fascinating mixture, often seeming to be almost random in their frequency and patterns and varying from the musical to the natural to the mechanical - and often of a painful quality to the ear. as I said, on first hearing they seemed to be almost random but I think that there must have been a fair degree of control and planning of them as they were so remarkably effective and powerful.
The other highly effective cinematic technique that was superbly used was the editing, camera movement and shot length. Fro the last there was a remarkable variety so that one was almost constantly disconcerted by their apparent randomness and unexpectedness of the shots while the use of rapid jump cuts and other horror cliches was very sparing if not almost non-existent - and so when they were used their impact was a sensational as it should have been. Reaction shots were often of almost painful length as well.
All these elements mentioned in the above paragraphs, along with the slow pace of the plot unfolding meant that there was a constant lurking and creeping sense of dread about the film. The restrained and largely natural lighting also helped much with this.
At the very end where many more traditional horror tropes came in (summoning of devils/covens etc - trying not to give too much away) I did occasionally wonder if it was going to be a disappointing retreat into the known and familiar, but as this aspect really only happened in the very last few moments and had a clear, logical and plausible relationship to what had happened before, it did really work as a largely very satisfying and dark end to superb piece of work.
Go watch!