“I just need you to go and see upstairs. Please, Steve. And then… there’s more.”
That’s right it is Hereditary. Forrest Miller, Conan Neutron, J. Andrew World, are joined by Renee Ruin (The Night Shift) to talk about this Ari Aster debut feature.
It’s really rare to get a horror movie that’s genuinely scary in a way that lingers with you for a while. Stunning example of creeping dread. One of the only horror movies we can think of that has actually moved the genre forward a bit. The horror of real life, and grief and death.
Analyzing it, Ari Aster is far more preoccupied with building up and then crashing down the family dynamics of the Graham Family, all of the inherent tensions, emotional resentment, and psychological turmoil.
The horror creeps up into the story, but only for brief flashes at first, and I think that causing us as an audience to pay attention to the family dynamics more than the creepy ghostly flashes of the occult (some even almost too quick to see) in the WHOLE FRAME and well placed jump scares. As the horror ramps up, the Family Dynamic is torn to shreds, and we’re already pulled in. It’s interesting, that although there are many many similarities to Midsommar and Beau is Afraid, that this was Ari Aster’s one foray into jump scare horror.
The cinematography and shot composition is off the scale awesome. Absolutely best watched knowing as little as possible and letting it all unfold. A slow burn of emotional torment and just undeniably creepy. An event that happens in the first third is so shocking and disturbing it will stick with you long after. The last 30 minutes, however… astounding.
Toni Collette getting an Oscar snub for this was a damn crime.
Renee Ruin hosts the Night Shift with Bonnie Burton and Jenna Haze:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClY8KismmRuNxYs30TT25Eg
Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends dropped a split LP with Lung Adult Prom: neutronfriends.bandcamp.com