Toni Collette hates scary movies

Toni Collette's new film Hereditary might be a horror, but the Australian actress is not a fan of the scary genre.

In Hereditary, Toni plays Annie, a mother dealing with supernatural goings-on in the wake of her own mum's death.

Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff and newcomer Milly Shapiro co-star as her family, who all encounter various gruesome scenarios, with Toni admitting in an interview with British newspaper Metro that given a choice, she wouldn't watch a horror movie.

"It's not something I really seek out," she confessed. "I don't like watching them! My mind is already too fertile! I just don't need those images. I have enough worries in life. If I'm trying to get to sleep at night, that's when something will pop into my brain from some film and then there's no hope.

"When I was a teenager, going to slumber parties, there was a phase of people watching films like Nightmare On Elm Street. I just wasn't interested; I wanted to watch John Hughes films."

Over the course of her nearly 30-year career, 45-year-old Toni has starred in everything from indie favourite Little Miss Sunshine to box office smash The Sixth Sense, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

But it was her breakout role in Australian comedy Muriel's Wedding that she's still synonymous with.

"Yeah (people still reference it). I was 20 when I did that and I'm 45 now, so it was 25 years ago," she said. "Closer to the time when the film came out, I got so sick of people saying, 'You're terrible, Muriel!' But people still say it to this day. I've realised there are so many films and so many stories told but for one film to stick with people and remain so heartfelt, and for them to feel so fond of the character, is really incredible. So it's a good thing."