Hereditary

***Hereditary*** is a 2018 American supernatural psychological horror drama film written and directed by Ari Aster, in his feature directorial debut. It stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Gabriel Byrne as a family haunted with sinister secrets after the death of their secretive grandmother. The film was distributed by A24 and released on June 8, 2018.

## Contents

* 1Plot
* 2Why It Rocks
* 3Bad Quality
* 4Reception
* 5Trivia
* 6Videos
* 7External Links
* 8Comments

## Plot

When her mentally ill mother passes away, a woman named Annie (Toni Collette) and her husband (Gabriel Byrne), son (Alex Wolff), and daughter (Milly Shapiro) all mourn her loss. The family turns to different means to handle their grief, including Annie and her daughter both flirting with the supernatural. They each begin to have disturbing, otherworldly experiences linked to the sinister secrets and emotional trauma that has been passed through the generations of their family.

## Why It Rocks

1. The film is one of the most terrifying modern horror films in a long time.
2. It perfectly addresses themes of depression, grief, and family.
3. A unique story where a family suspects they've inherited demons from the older generations of their family tree.
4. Toni Collette gives off the performance of her career, with a ton of sense of fear in her character Annie. Her amazing acting is shown when Annie lashes out at Peter while the family is eating dinner.
	* In fact, everybody in the movie gives off amazing performances, even the minor characters.
	* The terrific performances in the film make the movie as if it's real life and not something made out of fiction.
	* It also launched Milly Shapiro's career. Even though she gained some recognition for her role as Matilda Wormwood in the Broadway production of *Matilda*, her role as Charlie Graham brought her right into stardom.
5. All of the characters in this movie are easy to care for.
	* A notable example is Annie. Her abusive mother just passed away, and she also has a feeling that there's some sort of presence in her house. Even her family starts to notice these things too. Annie's family has also had a history of mental illness that goes so far and is steeped in tragedy.
	* Another notable example is Charlie. She's the eccentric daughter of Annie and the little sister of Peter. She would be the character that the audience can set their eyes on due to her seeming like the central character of the movie, from the moment she bites into a chocolate bar.
6. Ari Aster gives off great direction, even for his first feature film. His screenplay for the movie is greatly written too.
7. The film heavily relies on dread and atmosphere rather than cheap jump-scares, with dark scenes and suspense. It has also been known not just to scare the audience. It tortures them with tension and rarely provides them the sweet relief of jump scares. It causes the movie to lack any predictability or clichés, allowing for a completely original and terrifying nightmare to happen.
	* It's also very unsettling because it feels like it can happen to you and your family in real life.
8. The plot's very original, and it's full of twists and turns.
	* Similar to films such as The Babadook and The Witch, it's a family drama that's about the members of the family slowly turning against each other, though it takes the whole thing to the next level.
9. The film is not a "fun" horror movie. It's dark, depressing, disturbing, hard to watch, and incredibly unbearable with its intensity levels, and because the characters' pain feels so real. It's also able to stick with the viewer long after they watch it.
	* This was also to the point where some audiences even had to run out of theaters due to its scare value.
10. Plenty of shocking moments for a horror film.
11. Shocking and unexpected plot twist about 40 minutes into the movie.
12. Stunning and haunting cinematography that makes the movie feel more like a nightmare from hell.
13. Hauntingly amazing soundtrack and score by Colin Stetson, which only adds to the scare factor. Even Judy Collins' "Both Sides, Now" plays at the end credits.
	* The song "Reborn" is one of the most famous songs in the soundtrack, as it's considered so fitting for the ending due to its eerie nature.

## Bad Quality

1. While Alex Wolff's performance is decent, he's not good at crying on the spot, as it sounds extremely fake and can sometimes ruin a scene that's supposed to be horrifying.

## Reception

*Hereditary* has been called one of the scariest and best horror movies of the decade. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 335 reviews and an average rating of 8.25/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Hereditary uses its classic setup as the framework for a harrowing, uncommonly unsettling horror film whose cold touch lingers long beyond the closing credits." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."

## Trivia

* It is currently A24's highest-grossing film worldwide, taking in $81.3 million at the box office against a $10 million budget.
* The trailer for the film was accidentally played during a screening for Peter RabbitAMW, causing a small panic at the theater.
* Aster said that during filming, Alex Wolff told him not to say William Shakespeare's Scottish play out loud because of some superstitious theater legend. Aster smugly said it anyway, and one of the lights burst during shooting.