Hereditary
Toni Collette and Milly Shapiro examine the ripples of generational trauma.
This movie should come with a therapist’s number.
What’s Hereditary About?
At her mother’s funeral, Annie (Toni Collette) stumbles through a eulogy. It’s clear that she and her mother had a fraught relationship, and even now, Annie can’t help but fall back on sarcasm when describing the woman in the casket. It becomes clear that Annie doesn’t know what to do with her grief or her unresolved anger, so she swallows it, and forces a smile as she greets the guests.
Her relationship with her family isn’t much better. Her son Peter (Alex Wolff) is shut off from her, her daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro) is more interested in her art than people, and her therapist husband (Gabriel Byrne) is content to let the silence fester in their home.
And fester it does.
As another tragedy rocks Annie to her core, it becomes clear that her inability to connect to her husband and children is part of an inherited cycle, and one that will destroy everyone if not broken.
What Makes Hereditary Good?
Horror movies can be cathartic. You sit alone in the dark, jump when Jason pops out to slash some wayward teen, and enjoy the adrenaline surge as you eat popcorn.
Hereditary isn’t a catharsis. It’s more like watching the most uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner you’ve ever experienced spiral into murder and devastation. Director Ari Aster knows that the real horror in this world is the idea that you might become like the family members who hurt you growing up. The stalking monster in this film is essentially unresolved trauma that you will inflict on the next generation.
Because of this, Hereditary doesn’t operate like a normal commercial horror film. There are not a lot of jump scares, the soundtrack doesn’t ratchet up to build tension. The tension is inherent in every frame because you can see each member of Annie’s family slowly losing their grip on the projection of normality they show the world. It’s a slow, disturbing build, and if you’re not physically cringing by the time the family sits down to have the world’s worst dinner, you’re made of steel.
Beyond one of the greatest arguments for family therapy ever put to film, Hereditary is also a brilliant example of why Toni Collette is one of our most underappreciated working actresses. Her Annie is a house built on an eroding cliff. She clings to sanity, her fear that her mother’s mental illness has tainted her very clear even as she dismisses it with a sarcastic quip. She spends her life obsessing over making miniature scenes so she doesn’t have to deal with the reality those scenes represent. It’s a desperate coping mechanism and one that proves ultimately futile.
The message of Aster’s work seems to be: Whatever you don’t want to talk about will find you, no matter how far you run.
Hereditary also shows off some stunning work by cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski. His shots of the family home, opened up to become a literal doll house, and creeping zooms are excellent examples of how artistic choices can enhance the dread in a movie. The sound design, especially Charlie’s haunting clicking noise, is also a masterclass in minimalism for maximum effect.
Hereditary isn’t a movie that will have you off laughing at the gruesome kills or clever villains. It’s a movie that will stay with you and inspire some examination.
And hey, if you end up calling a therapist to deal with a few things before you turn into a screaming Toni Collette, that’s probably for the best.
Verdict
One of the best psychological horror films of the modern era. Seek it out, but only if you’re ready for some truly disturbing viewing.
Hereditary is rated R and available to stream on Showtime.
