Chances are Ari Aster isn't a director you've heard of prior to Hereditary. That's because it's his first feature-film as a director, and he's certainly set a high bar for himself and his newfound fans.
Held under the wing of production company A24, Hereditary is a strange take on the thriller/horror genre, in the sense that the film really is quite a mixture of both. It takes on a 'slow burn' approach, using its camera angles and writing to leave subtle clues as to what sits ahead for the characters.
Its narrative is mostly straightforward: a family death is pushing a family towards their limits as their stresses and inability to connect grow stronger. It almost has the viewer asking whether this is going to be purely psychological horror with the way the mother is framed. After all, she shows very little sadness regarding the loss of her mother, but there's clearly something else there, and what is displayed is mostly anger and resentment.
With its first half appealing more to the thriller genre, Hereditary has you questioning motives, direction, and who -- or even what -- the deceased grandmother is, given the sheer fragility among the family. It's evident that something isn't right, but the film clings on to the answers and reveals them slowly when it feels best to; these moments don't feel particularly huge, they're not framed as significant moments, because as the viewer, we're almost in that perspective of the deceased grandmother.
Regarding perspective, the film takes pride in offering different types of it. Many of the film's more supernatural events take place in public, which only adds to the fear and obscure levels of realism -- and typically in supernatural thrillers/horrors, we never really see anyone else witnessing the events, never do unknown characters and members of the public experience the events alongside the characters. It's done well enough to not overstep, but ensures that it displays just what exactly the family is involved with in terms of willpower and strength.
Hereditary moves forward in a way that pulls the viewer in one direction, while slowly revealing a much bigger picture, progressing in an elegant way that promotes predictions, but removes the rug from below you when you least expect it. Taking the best parts of classic horrors and combining them into its own twisted creation, its own Frankenstein's monster.