The feedback suggests that people turn to films like Hereditary because they want to be fucked up, and that’s what Aster was counting on when he decided to dip into a genre that he has sometimes found to be lacking. Critics have lauded Hereditary’s ability to get under their skin, noting that it’s the kind of movie you just can’t shake, as much as you’d like to. While a recent genre hit like A Quiet Place keeps you on the edge of your seat with creature-feature suspense, Hereditary hits you with a lingering sense of discomfort - and that uneasy feeling lasts long after the movie is over.ĭespite the challenge of watching the film, reviews so far have been almost universally glowing. Yes, it’s just a movie, but like some of the best and most lasting horror films, watching it can be something of an ordeal. If Hereditary sounds like a painful viewing experience, that’s because it is. “I was hoping would feel more like a funeral where everyone is sort of grieving together,” Aster added, “but then a fire breaks out by the door and you can't get out.” As it turns out, Ellen’s death is just the first of many traumas inflicted on the Grahams. At the same time, Charlie - who had a special bond with her grandmother - is displaying some very disturbing behavior.īut if you think Hereditary is going to be a straightforward ghost story, you’d be mistaken. When the film begins, Annie is haunted by the recent passing of her mother, Ellen, a woman with whom she had a contentious and largely estranged relationship. The family at the center are the Grahams: mother Annie (Toni Collette), father Steve (Gabriel Byrne), son Peter (Alex Wolff), and daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro).
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That was sort of the goal.”Īster also described the film as “a family tragedy that curdles into a nightmare,” which is both accurate and an understatement.
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“You’re on a ride, you recognize the ride, this is what you paid for, this is gonna be fun - and then something happens that irreversibly alters the trajectory of the film, and people are now watching something that isn’t safe. “You could describe certain things that happen in the film as left turns, but what I really wanted to do was to kind of present them in a way that was more like a chute opening up under the audience and dropping them into hell,” Aster told BuzzFeed News.