“Hereditary”, released in 2018 and directed by the acclaimed Ari Aster in his feature film debut, transcended the horror genre by diving deep into a family tragedy that unfolds into a supernatural nightmare. The film is a terrifying psychological drama that explores grief, generational trauma, and the collapse of sanity, using occultism as a catalyst for one of the most disturbing experiences in modern cinema. Widely praised by critics for its meticulous direction, intense performances, and atmosphere of mounting dread, "Hereditary" cemented its place as a landmark in contemporary horror.
Analysis and Plot
The plot of "Hereditary" begins with the death of Ellen Taper Leigh, the enigmatic and reclusive matriarch of the Graham family. Her daughter, Annie (Toni Collette), an artist who builds elaborate miniatures, seemingly feels a mix of relief and grief, given the complexity and difficult relationship she had with her mother. However, Ellen's death is only the prelude to a series of sinister events that will begin to dismantle the already fragile structure of the Graham family. Annie is married to Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and has two children: teenager Peter (Alex Wolff) and the peculiar and withdrawn Charlie (Milly Shapiro), who was strangely close to her late grandmother.
Following the funeral, Ellen's presence seems not to have dissipated, manifesting in increasingly disturbing ways. Charlie, in particular, is the most affected, seeing apparitions and feeling her grandmother's influence. The atmosphere in the Graham house becomes oppressive, with Annie feeling that something abnormal is happening. On a fateful night, while Peter takes Charlie to a party, an unimaginable tragedy occurs: Charlie, who suffers from a severe allergic reaction, is accidentally decapitated when Peter rushes her to a hospital and crashes the car into a utility pole marked with a strange symbol. This devastating event throws the family into an abyss of grief, guilt, and resentment, further exposing the existing cracks between them.
Annie's grief manifests in outbursts of anger and guilt, especially toward Peter, whom she blames for Charlie's death. Meanwhile, Peter is haunted by trauma and guilt. It is in this scenario of despair that Annie gets close to Joan (Ann Dowd), a woman she met in a grief support group. Joan is actually a member of a satanic cult devoted to the demon Paimon, which had been manipulating the Graham family for generations. She introduces Annie to séances, promising contact with the late Charlie. However, these sessions are part of an elaborate plan to invoke Paimon into a new male host.
Annie's sanity disintegrates as she delves deeper into the occult, discovering the dark secrets of her mother, who was the cult's leader. She realizes that her family was being used as pawns in a demonic ritual. The house, once a refuge, becomes a stage for terrifying manifestations, culminating in the possession of Annie and, eventually, Peter.
The Ending Explained: A Legacy of Horror and Manipulation
The ending of "Hereditary" is the horrifying culmination of a plan meticulously orchestrated by Paimon's cult. The film's title, "Hereditary," gains its true meaning here: the evil is not just a mental illness passed from generation to generation, but a literal inheritance of possession and suffering.
The central twist is that Charlie, since her birth, was the vessel for Paimon's spirit. Ari Aster confirmed in interviews that Charlie was never really Charlie, but rather Paimon, who inhabited a female body and desired a male host. This is why Charlie's grandmother wished she had been born a boy, a subtle detail that Annie mentions in group therapy and that Charlie repeats. Charlie's accident was not a fluke, but a ritualistic sacrifice, premeditated by the cult to free Paimon from his female body and prepare him for Peter. The pole where Peter crashes the car had the same symbol of the demonic cult, indicating that everything was planned.
Joan, Annie's supposed friend, is the main architect of the cult, guiding Annie to release Paimon's spirit and then to prepare Peter as the final host. The séances and the spellbook that Annie finds are traps to weaken the family and facilitate the demon's transition. The film suggests that Paimon can only inhabit a body when the host is physically and mentally exhausted, and the series of tragedies serves precisely that purpose.
In the final sequence, Annie, already possessed and dehumanized, chases Peter through the house. Steve, the skeptical father, is burned alive when he tries to intervene, an additional sacrifice for the ritual. Annie, in one of the most shocking moments of the film, decapitates herself in a grotesque scene of forced self-sacrifice, releasing Paimon to enter Peter. After jumping out of the window to escape his mother, Peter falls to the ground, stunned. A blue light enters his body, and he stands up, now possessed by Paimon. Peter then heads to the treehouse, where he finds the cult members worshipping the severed heads of Annie and Ellen, and Charlie's decapitated mannequin, with a crown on its head, hailing him as King Paimon. The final scene is one of triumph for the cult and total despair for what remained of the Graham family, which was completely destroyed to fulfill the demon's goal.
The allegory of Annie's dioramas is also crucial. They represent how the family is manipulated, like puppets in a dollhouse, with no control over their own destiny. The film plays with the idea that the characters are mere pawns in a predetermined scenario, a discussion Peter has in a literature class about Greek tragedy.
Cast and Standout Performances
The cast of "Hereditary" delivers intense and unforgettable performances. Toni Collette, in the role of Annie Graham, is widely acclaimed by critics for her "stunning" and "soul-shattering" performance. Her ability to transition between deep grief, explosive anger, overwhelming guilt, and mental disintegration is masterful, carrying much of the film's emotional and terrifying weight. Many critics considered her performance award-worthy, even though the horror genre is rarely recognized in major ceremonies.
Alex Wolff, as Peter Graham, also stands out by playing a traumatized and tormented teenager. His visceral performance captures his character's anguish, fear, and confusion in the face of the tragedies and supernatural terror surrounding him. Milly Shapiro, in her first major role as Charlie Graham, creates a unique and disturbing character, whose strangeness is fundamental to the plot's development and the film's atmosphere of discomfort. Gabriel Byrne offers a restrained and solid performance as Steve, the skeptical father who tries to keep the family together in the face of chaos. Ann Dowd is sensational as the ambiguous and sinister Joan, whose welcoming smile hides demonic intentions.
Behind-the-Scenes Trivia and Controversies
"Hereditary" is the first feature film by Ari Aster, who also wrote the screenplay. The director, a horror film aficionado since childhood, studied at the American Film Institute and had already directed provocative short films before "Hereditary." Initially, Aster presented the project as a "family tragedy" with supernatural elements, rather than purely as a horror film. He sought inspiration in family dramas and psychological horror films, such as "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), "The Shining", and "Don't Look Now" (1973), as well as Japanese films like "Ugetsu" and "Kwaidan".
A notable piece of trivia is that the Graham family house was built on a stage to give the film a "dollhouse" aesthetic, a direct parallel to Annie's profession and the idea that the family is being manipulated.
The scene of Charlie's decapitation, one of the most shocking in the film, was inspired by a real case that occurred in Georgia in 2004. Another intense moment involves Alex Wolff hitting his head on a desk. The actor actually hit his head during filming to make the scene more realistic, despite the production team's efforts to protect him with a cushion. Wolff even reported suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and memory loss after filming, given the emotional intensity of the role. Toni Collette initially hesitated to accept the role because she was not a fan of horror films, but was convinced by the uniqueness and depth of the script.
One of the main controversies and points of discussion surrounding "Hereditary" lies in its interpretation. Many viewers debated whether the film's events were supernatural manifestations or if the family was suffering from a hereditary mental illness, such as schizophrenia or depression, that led them to hallucinations. The initial ambiguity, carefully constructed by Aster, makes the audience question the characters' sanity, until the narrative leans definitively toward supernatural horror and the Paimon cult. This duality, however, remains a topic of debate, enriching the film experience.
Reception and Legacy
"Hereditary" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2018, receiving near-unanimous critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned a 90% approval rating from critics, with an average of 8.3/10, and on Metacritic, it reached 87/100, indicating "universal acclaim." Critics described it as "deeply disturbing" and "an absolute nightmare," comparing it to classics like "The Exorcist." Praise was directed at Ari Aster's direction, Pawel Pogorzelski's cinematography, Colin Stetson's score, and especially Toni Collette's performance.
However, the audience reception was notably divided. Although it was a commercial success, grossing about $80.2 million worldwide against a $10 million budget, the CinemaScore audience in the US gave the film a rare "D+" grade, indicating significant rejection. On Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score was around 57%. This disparity between critics and the public has been a point of discussion, with some suggesting that the general public is not accustomed to horror films that prioritize psychological terror and family drama over cheap jump scares. Many viewers considered the film "slow," "too complicated," or having a "weird" ending if they didn't catch all the hidden meanings.
Despite the division of opinions, "Hereditary" established itself as one of the most talked-about and impactful horror films of the 2010s. It is frequently cited as an example of "new horror" that explores deeper themes and a more artistic approach to the genre. The film marked Ari Aster as a promising talent, paving the way for his subsequent work, "Midsommar" (2019), and establishing him as one of the most fascinating and disturbing directors in contemporary pop culture. Its legacy lies in its ability to instill a lasting dread and in its profound exploration of the horrors that can, indeed, be hereditary.
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