Hereditary

Writer/Director: Ari Aster
Genre: Horror

(Reading Time - ~5minutes)
I had decided when I re-started this blog that I would write more about the themes of the films I watch rather than the technical aspects of filmmaking. But, as I write about Hereditary, I have to reluctantly break my own rule. The reason is that Hereditary is a bigger triumph of filmmaking, and the art of storytelling, than its theme. I have always liked horror films with a horrifying theme at their core as opposed to jump-scare horror films. Yes, the jump-scares always did scare the crap out of me, but that was always momentary, with no afterthoughts about the film. Films which explore a theme however, such as The Babadook(depressing meditation on grief and trauma) and It Follows(teenage sexual anxiety, among many others, I believe), actually disturbed me and left a much stronger impression. But Hereditary, though also based around a theme, leaves an impression more due to its craft than its themes! And hence, I cannot, but, write about the elements of its filmmaking that I liked.

Thematically, I feel that Hereditary is about the inevitability and inescapability of inheriting the flaws and weaknesses of our ancestors-how they haunt us and, inevitably, take over us. This, itself, is a scary theme for a horror film, but in its execution, Hereditary was more disturbing than scary for me.

The film begins with the death of a grandmother whose death is, apparently, not grieved much in the family. But her death has a different effect on different family members and as the plot moves ahead, we get to know more details about the family and the grandmother's disturbing antics in the past. The family consists of a mother, who builds miniature art, often reconstructing significant scenes from her life to miniature scenes, a teenage son, a younger daughter and a psychiatrist father. To say anything more would be to spoil the experience of the film.

The film scares not so much with a story that goes darker from page one without any respite, but with the creation of its horrifying environment from the first page, and making it scarier and scarier as the film grows! Standard horror fares usually have good eerie music, along with slow camera movements to build anticipation and then suddenly, along with a jolting music beat, cut to the scary element. Hereditary, on the other hand, does not rely much on these tricks and, instead, uses all the elements of filmmaking to build up its environment of horror and discomfort.

The first element of filmmaking put to good use in it is, of course, the script. The script of Hereditary departs from genre films in specific ways. Horror forces are not constrained by some rules or rituals that help the protagonists in their fight against the forces. Rather the horror forces have an objective. And they do everything to achieve that objective. It may not seem much on reading here, but there are scenes in the film that deliberately break cliches! Also, Hereditary does not play out all its cards at once. In the beginning it was tough for me to figure out what the film is about? Is it about loss and grief due to death? Is it about the horrors of inheriting mental health problems? Yes and also more. But these elements are revealed slowly, and in time, to greatly build the sense of horror. There is no base plotline to hold on to. You don't come to know if it's a curse, a revenge-seeking-ghoul, a legendary spirit or whatever until the third act and even then, before you can begin to seek comfort in the knowledge, the film amps up its act to give you no chance of preparing yourself and leaves you untethered, just like the protagonists!

The cinematography is brilliant, often taking us seamlessly through the miniature worlds that the mother creates and the real world, which has connections with the film's themes as well! Scenes have been well thought out and constructed in favour of setting up the mood rather than of exposition. Dialogues are few and suddenly spring up in heated exchanges as the family tries to handle their grief in vain. Then there are these characters, lost in the face of terrible grief, not making any wrong decisions and yet falling in to the devil's trap, for it is all inevitable. It is important to say here that the film relies very much on acting. We spend more time with the actors as they react to the horror around them, through close-up shots, rather than shots of a dark corner waiting for the ghost to jump on the screen! And the actors deliver, their uniquely troubled countenances, their restrained emotions lingering just beneath their faces, waiting to burst out! And they do, in the most unnerving and disturbing ways.

The buildup of horror is continuous. The aura of something fearful is always hanging in the air, the music adds to it and then suddenly one of the character's face contorts in fear as they see something. The characters' reactions incite fear in us and then, instead of cutting straight to the scare, the camera moves closer to the character, slowly, intensifying the anticipation and then, turns again, slowly, to show what the character is seeing. This was effective in pulling me closer to what the character was feeling. And a slow revelation instead of a sudden cut, left a longer impression of horror. The feeling is not of a jolt, but of a continuous sense of discomfort. You are not in fear of the next big jump scare scene. Instead, you are continuously shifting in your seat in discomfort wondering what the hell is happening.

Ari Aster is the writer-director and it is evident from the way scenes are written, staged and lit that he is well-versed in his craft and the genre, despite this being his first feature horror film. Just like the story gives no respite to any of the characters, or to your own feelings, the film employs everything in its power to scare all the senses out of you! If you are looking for thrills and scares, avoid this. But, if you are feeling too cheery, positive and that life is all butterflies and sunshine, I would recommend a viewing of Hereditary to bring you back to reality!