HEREDITARY – Review

The camera pulls back from a modern treehouse that’s framed perfectly by a window frame. This is followed by a slow pan around the room that reveals a carefully rendered dollhouse. Just as the camera zooms in to reveal a detailed figurine in one of the bedrooms, the shot transforms into a real-life scenario where we aren’t just watching fabricated figures but actual people. Right from this opening shot, director Ari Aster has set the stage that HEREDITARY is not here to necessarily scare you, but make you question your surroundings and the way you go about your everyday life. Of course, there’s the allusion to having a creator and being placed here by a higher being, but the film is not interested in theological questions. What it does question is how much do we owe to our household – the familia household, more specifically. And while the house as a structure might be more of a symbol of what’s passed down from generation to generation, what’s worth questioning is what’s going on inside of our parents (and our parents’ parents) and the miniature rooms they build to hide dark secrets that end up getting passed on to the next generation.

Toni Collette plays Annie Graham, a grieving artist and mother who is struggling with the death of her mother. As each member of the family deals with the grief and the strange events that transpire following her death, new information and feelings buried deep within the family begin to surface.

That’s about as brief of a synopsis I can give without alluding to some of the turns the story takes. What stands out the most in HEREDITARY are the performances. The film is anchored by a grueling and emotional turn from Toni Collette. It’s easy to see why Toni Collette is earning such critical acclaim for her performance. Even her physical demeanor shows the internal turmoil that continues to build throughout the film. Collette’s character shows that there isn’t just one way to grieve, and her journey becomes the reason why HEREDITARY works so well as a family drama first and foremost.

Despite the claims that have been made, it’s a horror film for the characters but not quite as much for the audience. In that respect, you sympathize with the horrific situation they’re dealing with more than being terrified by it. This, of course, is up until when the horror decides to rear its sudden face. While the finale may elicit some gasps from its nightmarish imagery, it’s an approach that feels more tacked on than a fluid transition. The imagery is meant to provoke, but unfortunately it also slightly undermines the haunting ambiguity of the questions the film raises.

There are some really unsettling and interesting ideas at work. What’s most intriguing is the theme that’s hinted at by the title: What if some elements of our life are predisposed because of genetic traits? The feeling of not being in control of your actions and mental state is a crippling and horrifying thought. HEREDITARY raises the stakes by presenting a type of horror that feels too real. And yet, there’s a metaphysical level to the ideas raised that incites more questions and conversations that even multiple rounds of coffee-discussions couldn’t entirely answer.

HEREDITARY, much like many of the recent acclaimed horror films, approaches the horror genre in a roundabout way. Jump scares have been replaced by situational horror. Many will be quick to compare it THE BABADOOK and THE WITCH, and the similarities are certainly there. THE BABADOOK is another film that deals with grief as an inescapable monster, while THE WITCH depicts a family slowly unraveling as fear turns one member against another. While the ending raises more eyebrows from a logical standpoint and explains away some of the mysterious, metaphysical ideas (that are much more creepy), HEREDITARY is still a standout 2018 film and further proves that the unexplained is the most unsettling element of horror’s genetic makeup.

Overall score: 4 out of 5

HEREDITARY opens in theaters on June 8th