Blog Project #2 - Topic 4
For my second project, I want to analyze and discuss the film Hereditary, written and directed by Ari Aster. If you didn't get the chance to visit your local movie theater and check this supernatural horror movie out back in the beginning of June, you really missed out. Especially if you are as big of a horror movie junkie as I am. I chose this movie for two reasons: It is a literal underrated masterpiece in many aspects compared to other modern day horror films, and it is the most recent film I saw in theaters.
What stood out to me about this film, especially compared to other horror movies released in recent years, was the content that accompanied the films length. Hereditary held a 127 run time but the movie keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire film. What I found unique about the film was I didn't feel one emotion. With other horror movies I feel as though each movie focuses solely on psychological fear, more jump out of your seat fear, anxious fear, or that uncomfortable, 'ew what the hell did I just watch?' fear. Frequently, horror films mix a few of these different types of fear, but Hereditary collected each fear and rotated turns throughout the movie. (I hope that makes sense to you. I feel like when I explain it out loud in conversation, people understand it easy. If you're not huge into horror films it may be hard to understand what I mean by different forms of fear.)
I also found it interesting none of my closest peers were jumping up and down to see this film like they did with the Purge films, or the Blair Witch Project. As Quora's website put it, 'If anything, Hereditary, while not "underrated", is something that needs more attention and proper advertising.' I truly agree with that statement. When Purge movie trailers hit theaters, we see them a year ahead of the planned release date and we see various trailers throughout Youtube, Pandora, and on TV leading up to the release. I didn't hear anything about Hereditary until I saw a tweet online urging people to go see it. I had not seen a single trailer anywhere, unless I actually looked it up on my own.
The real kicker of Hereditary was the trailer compared to the film itself. The trailer makes me think this is just going to be another family in a haunted house type of movie. The film itself is so much deeper than that. the movie starts at the scene of a funeral and goes on to follow a family around. There's nothing too eerie in the beginning but let me tell you, the slow build up makes the jumpy scenes so much better. Once you hit a very pivotal scene mid way through the film that will just make your stomach drop and your skin crawl, you'll dive more into the actual creepy politics of the movie surrounding the death of Grandma cult leader. Grandma's crazy religion is passed down to specific family members which still grabs them even from the grave. Just when you think you finally have an idea of what is going to happen next, something else completely blindsides that and you're left feeling completely anxious and confused. By the ending though, everything makes sense and circles back to all the questions that were formulated in the beginning. But, its creepy and uncomfortable mixed with just down right scary. To summarize in short without giving too much away, the movie is about a creepy cult bloodline that runs deep in a hurting family.
According to Variety's website article regarding the movie's filmmaker Ari Aster's 'Burning Questions', (Don't read through this article UNLESS you are ready for spoilers) Hereditary brought in $13 million on a $10 million budget opening weekend. By August 5th, 2018 the film had reached $43.9 million in the US, $35.3 million in other countries, and 79.2 million total. It was A24's biggest grossing film, according to Wikipedia and and Slashfilm.
As the Verge.com described it, the film itself is 'a polar opposite of the measured 31-year-old director' who was also described as nice and quiet. Aster's early love of horror films set the stage for his desire to direct films and push the limits with modern day movies. Despite his early obsession, he actually didn't want to focus on horror. Which I found very interesting. He stated in TheVerge article, "I'd been resisting writing horror for a long time, mostly because it just wasn't the genre that had been exciting me. Which is silly, because everything I do is really dark and bleak, and horror is like the one genre where that is not only a virtue. It's sort of necessary."Before he made Hereditary, he made disturbing little short stores that also had uncomfortable family focuses. It was like he found his niche, and really moved forward with it which I think is pretty incredible. Maybe that's what sets the bar for his style compared to other filmmakers. Or maybe it's his personal drive to live a impression in people's minds when they watch a horror movie. Regardless, I hope his 'dark and bleak' style brings us some more horrifying movies in the future.
As Ari Aster put it in the Verge article, he was focused on the movies that are, 'more existential in nature and are really trying to play with very serious fears and engaging them on a serious level.' He states those are the films he personally is interested in watching, and those are the films he is interested in making. I would say his audience are those type of people as well. The people who want to tap more into psychological fear, like I mentioned in my second paragraph. The people who enjoy a film such as Hereditary, (like myself) love this film because it gets the wheels turning in our brains. I'm not just leaving the theater wiping my hands clean of the film, like I would a Purge movie. I'm trying to figure out what the heck went through someone's mind to want to sit down, get a crew together, and make this disturbing movie. Although this movie still did offer some jumps and jolts for sure, it really did leave me with more thoughts than anything. It certainly was a moving that leaves a lasting impression on audiences which is very rare in this age of horror.
I wouldn't say this film is really stereotypical. I mean, I guess some aspects are if you were to observe cult behaviors. Like I previously mentioned though, this movie is unique compared to other horror movies that have been released in the last decade. I wouldn't say it sends offensive messages considering it's genre either but I mean, I really wouldn't urge you to watch this with children around, due to some of the gory content.
As far as evaluation goes, all films have their strong points and low points. For me, I saw more strong points in this film which is why I chose it. The one thing I had a love/hate relationship with was the ending of this movie. I said earlier I enjoyed how it kept the wheels turning in my brain, but I didn't like how many questions I was left with. This was certainly a movie that I think would need two viewings to fully grasp every concept and to pick up on hints that may have been overlooked the first time around. My boyfriend who also loves psychological movies, was even saying 'Huh?' at the end. How do I say this... the ending made sense, but it also didn't? So much happens at once that you're almost overwhelmed at the end. A lot of questions are answered but more questions are formed in exchange. Without giving too much away, I will also say as a viewer, we needed more history and scenes about grandma and the cult itself. I got the jist of her role, but I needed the movie to reflect more history. Not a lot of weaknesses to throw out, but those were the biggest cons.
I've touched on a few strengths of the film as far as what types of fear it reaches but there is way more to mention. The movie trailer kept us completely in the dark. Big, huge fan of that. One thing I really dislike about the modern movie industry is that the movie trailers give away all the best scenes. This movie, however left us all clueless. Lets talk about the acting too while we're at it. Big fan again. Somebody get Toni Collette a grammy because that woman, along with the entire cast, was incredible. She captured true fear and pain throughout the film. Prior to Hereditary, I only recall ever watching Collette in 'Miss You Already' which was more of a romance/drama. I wasn't a huge fan of her in that film, but she killed it in the scary movie scene. It was nice to see some fresh new faces to horror movies too.
If you haven't got the point by now, I love this movie. I was not familiar with the film maker or production company prior to this film, but I personally think this is probably their best work. I want to take the time to explore some of the other films A24 has produced though due to all the good reviews I've heard. I truly think Hereditary is going to do big things for Ari and for A24 Films. Hereditary has made footprints in the world of horror, whether it is widely recognized or not, there is a reason this movie is critically acclaimed and tremendously exceeded the budget.
Of the reviews I scrolled through, a large majority felt the same as me. Matt Zoller Seitz from RogerEbert.com reviewed it as, 'Creepy beyond belief, Hereditary is one of those movies you shouldn't describe in detail because if you do it will not only ruin surprises but make the listener wonder if you saw the film or dreamed it.' On Rotten Tomatoes, I found a lot of 'Hereditary breaks tradition' from Linda Cook at the Quad City Times and 'All time great Toni Collette performance.' By Christy Lemire at What The Flick. Overall, I would say critics shared a lot of the same views and thoughts as I did.
I have not had the chance to watch any of Ari's short films he made prior to Hereditary's release, but they are on my 'To Watch' list in my notes on my iPhone. As far as the work of Hereditary goes, my peers and family who I recommended the film to absolutely raved over it. They thought it was equally as creepy and disturbing as I did, but they still called it a work of art. I truly think Ari Aster is onto something with disturbing movies.
To wrap things up, I hope you take the time to watch this movie. If you don't watch this one, watch another horror movie. Analyze what type of fear it triggers and how it makes you feel after the story. Maybe you'll notice things you never thought about before.
You missed the theater debut, but visit your local Redbox when this releases to DVD so you too can experience all the creativity and hard work that went into such a great film.
Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/V6wWKNij_1M
https://variety.com/2018/film/awards/hereditary-ari-aster-answers-burning-questions-1202841448/
^^^^SPOILERS^^^ wouldn't recommend if you haven't seen it
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hereditary/
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-horror-movie-Hereditary-overrated-or-underrated
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/hereditary-delivers-a-new-kind-of-horror
https://www.slashfilm.com/hereditary-box-office/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_(film)
(Yes, I know, Wikipedia, the big no no don't use this for reference. But I did use it to compare production numbers)
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/hereditary/critic-reviews
What stood out to me about this film, especially compared to other horror movies released in recent years, was the content that accompanied the films length. Hereditary held a 127 run time but the movie keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire film. What I found unique about the film was I didn't feel one emotion. With other horror movies I feel as though each movie focuses solely on psychological fear, more jump out of your seat fear, anxious fear, or that uncomfortable, 'ew what the hell did I just watch?' fear. Frequently, horror films mix a few of these different types of fear, but Hereditary collected each fear and rotated turns throughout the movie. (I hope that makes sense to you. I feel like when I explain it out loud in conversation, people understand it easy. If you're not huge into horror films it may be hard to understand what I mean by different forms of fear.)
I also found it interesting none of my closest peers were jumping up and down to see this film like they did with the Purge films, or the Blair Witch Project. As Quora's website put it, 'If anything, Hereditary, while not "underrated", is something that needs more attention and proper advertising.' I truly agree with that statement. When Purge movie trailers hit theaters, we see them a year ahead of the planned release date and we see various trailers throughout Youtube, Pandora, and on TV leading up to the release. I didn't hear anything about Hereditary until I saw a tweet online urging people to go see it. I had not seen a single trailer anywhere, unless I actually looked it up on my own.
The real kicker of Hereditary was the trailer compared to the film itself. The trailer makes me think this is just going to be another family in a haunted house type of movie. The film itself is so much deeper than that. the movie starts at the scene of a funeral and goes on to follow a family around. There's nothing too eerie in the beginning but let me tell you, the slow build up makes the jumpy scenes so much better. Once you hit a very pivotal scene mid way through the film that will just make your stomach drop and your skin crawl, you'll dive more into the actual creepy politics of the movie surrounding the death of Grandma cult leader. Grandma's crazy religion is passed down to specific family members which still grabs them even from the grave. Just when you think you finally have an idea of what is going to happen next, something else completely blindsides that and you're left feeling completely anxious and confused. By the ending though, everything makes sense and circles back to all the questions that were formulated in the beginning. But, its creepy and uncomfortable mixed with just down right scary. To summarize in short without giving too much away, the movie is about a creepy cult bloodline that runs deep in a hurting family.
According to Variety's website article regarding the movie's filmmaker Ari Aster's 'Burning Questions', (Don't read through this article UNLESS you are ready for spoilers) Hereditary brought in $13 million on a $10 million budget opening weekend. By August 5th, 2018 the film had reached $43.9 million in the US, $35.3 million in other countries, and 79.2 million total. It was A24's biggest grossing film, according to Wikipedia and and Slashfilm.
As the Verge.com described it, the film itself is 'a polar opposite of the measured 31-year-old director' who was also described as nice and quiet. Aster's early love of horror films set the stage for his desire to direct films and push the limits with modern day movies. Despite his early obsession, he actually didn't want to focus on horror. Which I found very interesting. He stated in TheVerge article, "I'd been resisting writing horror for a long time, mostly because it just wasn't the genre that had been exciting me. Which is silly, because everything I do is really dark and bleak, and horror is like the one genre where that is not only a virtue. It's sort of necessary."Before he made Hereditary, he made disturbing little short stores that also had uncomfortable family focuses. It was like he found his niche, and really moved forward with it which I think is pretty incredible. Maybe that's what sets the bar for his style compared to other filmmakers. Or maybe it's his personal drive to live a impression in people's minds when they watch a horror movie. Regardless, I hope his 'dark and bleak' style brings us some more horrifying movies in the future.
As Ari Aster put it in the Verge article, he was focused on the movies that are, 'more existential in nature and are really trying to play with very serious fears and engaging them on a serious level.' He states those are the films he personally is interested in watching, and those are the films he is interested in making. I would say his audience are those type of people as well. The people who want to tap more into psychological fear, like I mentioned in my second paragraph. The people who enjoy a film such as Hereditary, (like myself) love this film because it gets the wheels turning in our brains. I'm not just leaving the theater wiping my hands clean of the film, like I would a Purge movie. I'm trying to figure out what the heck went through someone's mind to want to sit down, get a crew together, and make this disturbing movie. Although this movie still did offer some jumps and jolts for sure, it really did leave me with more thoughts than anything. It certainly was a moving that leaves a lasting impression on audiences which is very rare in this age of horror.
I wouldn't say this film is really stereotypical. I mean, I guess some aspects are if you were to observe cult behaviors. Like I previously mentioned though, this movie is unique compared to other horror movies that have been released in the last decade. I wouldn't say it sends offensive messages considering it's genre either but I mean, I really wouldn't urge you to watch this with children around, due to some of the gory content.
As far as evaluation goes, all films have their strong points and low points. For me, I saw more strong points in this film which is why I chose it. The one thing I had a love/hate relationship with was the ending of this movie. I said earlier I enjoyed how it kept the wheels turning in my brain, but I didn't like how many questions I was left with. This was certainly a movie that I think would need two viewings to fully grasp every concept and to pick up on hints that may have been overlooked the first time around. My boyfriend who also loves psychological movies, was even saying 'Huh?' at the end. How do I say this... the ending made sense, but it also didn't? So much happens at once that you're almost overwhelmed at the end. A lot of questions are answered but more questions are formed in exchange. Without giving too much away, I will also say as a viewer, we needed more history and scenes about grandma and the cult itself. I got the jist of her role, but I needed the movie to reflect more history. Not a lot of weaknesses to throw out, but those were the biggest cons.
I've touched on a few strengths of the film as far as what types of fear it reaches but there is way more to mention. The movie trailer kept us completely in the dark. Big, huge fan of that. One thing I really dislike about the modern movie industry is that the movie trailers give away all the best scenes. This movie, however left us all clueless. Lets talk about the acting too while we're at it. Big fan again. Somebody get Toni Collette a grammy because that woman, along with the entire cast, was incredible. She captured true fear and pain throughout the film. Prior to Hereditary, I only recall ever watching Collette in 'Miss You Already' which was more of a romance/drama. I wasn't a huge fan of her in that film, but she killed it in the scary movie scene. It was nice to see some fresh new faces to horror movies too.
If you haven't got the point by now, I love this movie. I was not familiar with the film maker or production company prior to this film, but I personally think this is probably their best work. I want to take the time to explore some of the other films A24 has produced though due to all the good reviews I've heard. I truly think Hereditary is going to do big things for Ari and for A24 Films. Hereditary has made footprints in the world of horror, whether it is widely recognized or not, there is a reason this movie is critically acclaimed and tremendously exceeded the budget.
Of the reviews I scrolled through, a large majority felt the same as me. Matt Zoller Seitz from RogerEbert.com reviewed it as, 'Creepy beyond belief, Hereditary is one of those movies you shouldn't describe in detail because if you do it will not only ruin surprises but make the listener wonder if you saw the film or dreamed it.' On Rotten Tomatoes, I found a lot of 'Hereditary breaks tradition' from Linda Cook at the Quad City Times and 'All time great Toni Collette performance.' By Christy Lemire at What The Flick. Overall, I would say critics shared a lot of the same views and thoughts as I did.
I have not had the chance to watch any of Ari's short films he made prior to Hereditary's release, but they are on my 'To Watch' list in my notes on my iPhone. As far as the work of Hereditary goes, my peers and family who I recommended the film to absolutely raved over it. They thought it was equally as creepy and disturbing as I did, but they still called it a work of art. I truly think Ari Aster is onto something with disturbing movies.
To wrap things up, I hope you take the time to watch this movie. If you don't watch this one, watch another horror movie. Analyze what type of fear it triggers and how it makes you feel after the story. Maybe you'll notice things you never thought about before.
You missed the theater debut, but visit your local Redbox when this releases to DVD so you too can experience all the creativity and hard work that went into such a great film.
Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/V6wWKNij_1M
https://variety.com/2018/film/awards/hereditary-ari-aster-answers-burning-questions-1202841448/
^^^^SPOILERS^^^ wouldn't recommend if you haven't seen it
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hereditary/
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-horror-movie-Hereditary-overrated-or-underrated
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/hereditary-delivers-a-new-kind-of-horror
https://www.slashfilm.com/hereditary-box-office/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_(film)
(Yes, I know, Wikipedia, the big no no don't use this for reference. But I did use it to compare production numbers)
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/hereditary/critic-reviews
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