At this point, there’s little doubt that A24 has been developing a sterling resume as a film distribution company. Seriously. From early films like Spring Breakers, Enemy, and Under the Skin to Oscar winning work with Ex Machina and, most recently, Moonlight, A24 is here to stay. This year, Lady Bird, has a chance to bring home Best Picture at the Oscars too. The company has also done a great job in releasing original horror films as well. With The Witch, The Monster, and It Comes at Night to their name, it’s nice to see the genre taken seriously. Well, you can add Ari Aster’s feature film debut in there now. From the first Hereditary trailer, this horror film looks to be absolutely wild.
Following the passing of the Graham family’s matriarch, a supernatural force begins to haunt the remaining family. Toni Collette stars as Annie Graham, a woman who discovers that there was more to her mother than meets the eye. Most importantly, Annie’s daughter, Charlie (Milly Shapiro), is affected most by the bizarre presence left behind by the family matriarch. Gabriel Byrne and Alex Wolff round out the remaining Grahams.
On the surface, Hereditary reminds a bit of Darren Aronofsky’s mother! As in that film, this just seems like a descent into someone’s worst nightmare. As is the case with other horror films from A24, they tend to be slow burners. They don’t throw a bunch of needless jump scares at you. The issues in each film compound until tension is at an all time high. It looks as if this film will continue that trend. The trailer even quotes one of the film’s reviews saying that it’s “this generation’s The Exorcist.” While that remains to be seen, that’s definitely some good company to have if that’s truly the case.
The film is set for release on June 8th. Check out the first Hereditary trailer and comment below.
