Movie Monday: Film Recommendations By Our Contributors
Family drama, sudden decapitations, and satanic rituals. Hereditary’s got it all. Director Ari Aster’s first feature length movie is a masterful demonstration of the smarts and scares that modern psychological horror has to offer. In my opinion, Hereditary is one of the stand out horror flicks of the 2010s, marking Aster as a real one to watch in both the horror and directing scenes.
As the Graham family mourn the loss of the family matriarch, tragedy strikes again. Left to pick up the pieces of what is left, their familial relationships begin to fall apart. When it seems like the Graham family have nothing left to lose, a terrifying secret that tracks through their ancestry begins to unravel. Annie (Toni Collette), Steve (Gabriel Byrne), Peter (Alex Wolff), and Charlie (Milly Shapiro) must accept the fate that has been passed down to them through the generations.
For a feature length directorial debut, Hereditary certainly made its mark on the cinematic landscape of 2018. At the time of release, Hereditary became production company A24’s most successful film at the box office. Through this financial success, the film catalysed A24’s position as a major player in independent film production and distribution. Known for experimental and transgressive features that challenge their viewers, Hereditary fits seamlessly into the cinematic style that is synonymous with the independent distributor’s work.
Alongside the thrilling scares that are interwoven throughout the story, Hereditary pays close attention to themes of domesticity. The family’s strained dynamic after their sudden losses is raw, enhancing the sense of emotional realism that cut’s through Hereditary’s horror. Speaking with Den of Geek, Aster stated that “the feelings that fuelled the writing of the film were very personal and coming from personal experiences.” By channelling his individual experiences into the drama of Hereditary’s domestic dynamics, Aster is able to manifest his personal battles into an authentic portrayal of bereavement and shared grief.
Hereditary’s entire cast puts in consistently excellent performances throughout the entirety of the film’s two hour runtime. Collette’s heart-wrenching portrayal of Annie Graham is suitably deranged and anguished, authentically portraying the frustration and torment that comes in the wake of her mourning. Wolff is another who delivers a stand-out performance. The stark differences of his character when struck with tragedy and being ultimately possessed are disturbing, adding to the psychological fear that the film plays upon. The film is psychologically disconcerting, switching from emotion to emotion until viewers are left dumbfounded by the complex terrors before them.
The mother of the family, Annie, appears to channel her current thoughts and emotions into crafting dioramas of her family. She captures her trauma in a dollhouse, physically manifesting the theme of fatalism that is thread throughout King Paimon and the cult’s actions. The family are pawns in a much larger game than their domestic tragedy, being played in a strategic way to reach King Paimon’s objective. The doll’s house also allows Annie to compartmentalise her woes. By escaping through her craft, Annie can view her experiences more objectively, and distance herself from the emotions that could rule her.
Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski uses highly contrasted light and shade to create some of the most memorable jump scares of modern horror. By hiding Aster’s frights in the darkest corners of the screen, the scares are slow-burns that keep the audience on edge at all times. This allows for Hereditary to remain consistently tense throughout as viewers are always in a state of anticipation. Additionally, Aster’s screenplay is rife with clever contextual clues that are thread throughout the narrative. Hereditary keeps you guessing, unaware of how the horrors before you have come to fruition until all is revealed at the end. Aster cleverly hides the answers to his cryptic plot in plain sight, begging the viewer to rewatch the film and spot them. Hereditary is one of those movies that makes you question everything, knowing that you will find something new with each sitting.
Hereditary’s stylistic blending of realism and surrealism is incredibly effective at creating an atmosphere of permanent disjointed unease. Furthermore, this allows audiences to experience the maddening descent into surreal terror that the Graham family experience against the realist intensity of their mundane domestic life. The bizarre spiral of the family into the clutches of the cult reaches a crescendo, throwing audiences out of any sense of realistic safety they felt, and into a surrealist nightmare of religious devotion.
When looking at the impressive artistry of Hereditary, it is hard to ignore the realistic nature of the gore that can be seen throughout the movie. It never feels gratuitous, yet it is disturbingly realistic, demonstrating the talent of prosthetic makeup designer Steve Newburn. Newburn’s craft lends itself perfectly to the aforementioned surrealist horrors that snowball throughout the narrative, allowing for Aster’s gruesome vision to come to life.
Although beloved amongst both horror and psychological thriller fans, I have always felt that Hereditary is incredibly overlooked within the modern cinematic cannon. Perhaps Aster’s works are overshadowed by the treatment of horror as a second class genre. This is especially apparent when considering Collette’s evident snubbing when looking towards major award considerations for her performance as Annie. The plot is captivating, and when paired with Aster’s clever screenplay and impactful direction, audiences can expect a film that will certainly stay with them for a long time. Aster is fairly new to the game, having only created two feature films to date (Hereditary and 2019’s pagan revenge-horror Midsommar). With such an impressive pair of releases, fans of his work can only look forward to whatever this master of psychological horror has yet to offer.
Words by Jess Parker
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