The 21st Century's Scariest Film Set to Haunt Netflix Next Week
It's a real gem you can't miss.
Ari Aster has only three feature films to his credit, but the director is already rightly considered, if not a living classic, then one of the brightest auteurs whose every new work is a major event. And it all started with Hereditary, which premiered at Sundance in 2018.
Aster is in no hurry, but forces the viewer to watch a series of brutal deaths in a viscous rhythm. Hereditary is a classic slow-burner that builds to an inevitable tragedy, destroying a happy family at its roots and revealing the loneliness of a modern person.
What Is Hereditary About?
After the death of her mother, Ellen, Annie finds a series of strange objects in the deceased's belongings that indicate Ellen's connection to a dark mystical force.
The woman tries to dismiss the suspicions that have visited her, but a week later, someone desecrates Ellen's grave, and on the same day, Annie's children are involved in a car accident.
There seems to be an evil fate hanging over the house. Or is this the work of evil forces known only to Ellen? One of Annie's friends suggests that she hold a spiritualist session and ask her mother the questions that are troubling her.
Hereditary Is More Brutal Family Drama Than Horror Movie
At first glance, the movie has all the necessary attributes of the horror genre. All the elements are familiar: ghosts woven from shadows and standing in the corners of the room, unnaturally twisted bodies, possessed women in white robes, and even the child's ball rolling out of the darkness.
At the same time, of course, Hereditary is not a horror movie, but a truly gruesome family drama.
It is not for nothing that Aster mentions not only the horror film Rosemary's Baby, but also the psychological dramas Cries and Whispers and Ordinary People among the films that influenced his creative concept.
As a result, the most frightening scene in the movie is not the woman leaping out of the darkness under the power of a demon, or the floating decapitated corpses, but the family dinner scene in which mother and son deliberately provoke each other to self-destruction, pouring poisonous streams of insults and humiliating accusations at each other.
Hereditary is a movie about how a traumatic sense of guilt penetrates the roots of the family tree and corrodes it from within.
A24 Conducted an Experiment During the Premiere of Hereditary
During the premiere of Hereditary, A24 decided to conduct an experiment and measure the heartbeat of viewers as they watched the movie. A total of 20 people participated, and by the 30th minute, their heart rates began to rise, reaching 130 beats per minute.
And to appreciate the full extent of Ari Aster's debut, it took until the one and a half hour mark, when the pulse of the audience rose to 164 bpm. And it was not until the credits rolled that the heartbeat returned to normal.
Hereditary Is Coming to Netflix
So don't miss Ari Aster's horror masterpiece – Hereditary will be released on Netflix on January 15th.