Hereditary is a psychological horror that was given a ton of hype by various critics, some going as far as to say that the film was this generation's The Exorcist, which to my mind translated to a boundary-pushing piece of cinema that dealt more damage than just a few restless nights. Quite an ambitious and bold claim, and one that needed to be put to the test.
I dove into Hereditary and was quite surprised to discover at the end credits that the film was directed by Ari Aster, the same man who brought us the psychedelic thriller/horror, Midsommar, a year later. In light of this, the film's themes, tone, and execution made far more sense regarding Aster's interest in the occult, folklore, and ritual practices. The film begins with a beautiful shot of a treehouse framed within a window, like someone looking out at the summer day. The camera slowly zooms out and sweeps patiently across a room filled with replica buildings and rooms, no doubt modeled after the actual rooms within the house. It comes to focus on one bedroom, slowly zooming in to the point that replica becomes reality, and a young boy is woken from his slumber by his father who provides him with a suit to wear for a funeral. This first bit of editing makes Aster's desire to blur the lines between the real and illusory quite clear from the start, challenging audiences to constantly discern between the two.
The funeral in question is for the Grandmother of the family, who's daughter, Annie, gives and honest eulogy of her mother and her many shortcomings. In attendance is also Annies' husband, Steve, her son Peter and her daughter Charlie. While Peter, met earlier in the film, is quite a normal high school student, Charlie is a peculiar 13-year-old girl with slight facial abnormalities, and what appears to be a few mental abnormalities as well. Besides her somewhat bizarre drawings and apparent ADHD, Charlie also seems to have the habit of clicking her tongue inside of her mouth at the odd interval, not to mention her delusions that she has as the film progresses. Going back to Annie, the mother of two copes with her loss by burying herself in work and attending grief support groups, where she brings to light her families' history of mental illness. Her relationship with her own family appears to be as stunted as her relationship with her mother was, and her decisions to insist that Charlie attend a party with her brother, would be the major step to truly getting the cogs turning and churning towards the disturbing events to come.
An allergic reaction to eating cake at the party results in Peter driving at breakneck speed to get his younger sister to a hospital as her throat began to swell shut. Her desperate attempts for air lead her to open the window and stick her head out in hopes of getting a breath, a decision that would prove to be fatal as Peter would swerve to avoid a dead animal in the road, and slam his sister into a telephone pole, separating her head from her body. The accident tore yet another chunk out of the already compromised mental fabric of Annie, the death of her daughter at the hands of her son, created a thick atmosphere of resentment and self-pity.
Annie would find comfort in a fellow grief counseling member named Joanie, who would eventually introduce Annie to a means of connecting and communicating with loved ones who had passed. After seeing the proof of this method first hand, Annie desperately begged her family to join in on connecting with their recently departed family member, further creating concern over Annies' mental condition and overall well-being. It would appear that the events also intensified Annies' uncontrolled tendency to sleepwalk, creating a separation between her waking life and the activities and events that would occur with out her conscious knowledge. Annies' involvement in contacting the dead acts as a precursor to various odd occurrences for both herself and Peter, and further digging into her family history seems to reveal troubling information that places doubt on whether it is indeed Charlie who has returned to connect with her family or a more malevolent entity who harbors more sinister intentions.
So let us start by answering the question of whether Hereditary is indeed the air to the thrown that The Exorcist has long sat on. In a word, no, but then again I felt that a comparison ought not to have been made simply in virtue of the fact that the film also focuses on possession, because it certainly does not take away from the disturbing subtleties and unorthodox approach of this offering. Having watched only one other film by Aster, it has become clear that he is something of a master of mind games, demanding more from his audiences than just passive participation, but rather an encouragement for viewers to keep a keen eye out for minute details that brings clarity to the events in his films. Aster almost demands bravery from audiences who view their horror films behind the slits of their fingers, terrified of the jumpscares that have for so long been a popular part of any horror film. It is precisely this bravery to view the film closely and carefully that reveals secrets more disturbing than any monster that jumps out of the closet, and it's a film that encourages rewatching to catch every little easter egg that Aster has strewn throughout.
While not the scariest demonic possession film that one will watch, Hereditary is still a fascinatingly strange and disturbing film that is intelligently written and shot with some great cinematography that was most intriguing in its wide-angle shots, often trying to capture as much in a given area as possible. Individual performances were impressive, as audiences were constantly left guessing as to who the primary target of possession was. The use of abrupt silences and smooth transitions also created an uneasy feeling, providing the sensation that something big would happen, like a rollercoaster getting ready for its plunge after a slow descent. Hereditary showed that jumpscares are not always necessary to punctuate a situation, and is effective in so far as it acts as a sadistic puzzle who's pieces are carefully strewn throughout the film, hoping to be found and solved.
While an Aster joint is an acquired taste, it still comes recommended in its ability to bring fresh approaches to the genre. This film may not be The Exorcist or like The Exorcist, but that is not a bad thing, for when it comes to Ari Aster's Hereditary, it is authentically its own film. Happy viewing :).