Film of the Week: Hereditary

Hereditary doesn’t focus on the traditional jump scares, but instead emphasises on emotion. It manipulates the character’s, push them to the edge. The film focuses on uncovering the secrets of the past.

The one statement most horror films gets accused of is being the same as all the rest. The clichés of these horror films can dampen the scare factor, and potentially make the audience bored. If the story doesn’t hold as much weight as we would like, sometimes the scare factor can keep it from sinking – other times, the story can be better than the horror element. You may argue that a horror film that doesn’t scare well isn’t a good at being a horror film, and that would be a valid point, but those that have a decent story gets away with being called a bad film altogether. There seems to be a fine line between a good horror film and a bad one, but sometimes, an absolutely spectacular film comes along that ticks every box there is. Hereditary is exactly that type of film. It scares, it has an incredible story, and does what a lot of horrors don’t do and that’s utilising the clichés in a different way.

No horror film, no matter how good it is, will ever escape from the clichés, but it’s those that uses those clichés in a different way, which keeps the horror genre fresh. Hereditary’s fluid camera movements throughout the house makes it seem as if the camera was its own spirit, floating through their home, haunting the character’s. We don’t know what’s haunting the family until much later on in the film, and so this artistic choice almost makes us haunting them, as if the characters are always looking over the shoulder for a camera dangling over them. Then we learn what has really been haunting them, we discover it as they – or rather the mother does, who’s the one most affected by all of this, and is unintentionally continuing the ritual that her mother started, with the believe she’s communicating with her daughter only but also something much more sinister.

It puts a new spin on the atmosphere of a horror movie, and the one thing I’ve learnt is anything new in a horror is of itself, terrifying, because we’re not expecting it in the slightest. With most of the horror films I’ve watched, with them being filled to the brim with clichés and nothing really new just an attempt to scare the audience, it’s not a scary film. Sure, the jump scares are sudden and it’s a natural reaction to jump at something sudden. However, when a horror movie actually does something original, nothing ever becomes expected anymore, and that’s what makes Hereditary properly scary through and through.

A good amount of horror movies also include simplicity as a way to boost quality. Not so much is going on all at once, allowing the audience to focus and process on exactly what they need to, and then go in for the jump scare if applicable. This tactic is often utilised for maximum effect, and on occasion gives us a fake jump scare or nothing at all, leaving us wondering what’s going to happen next. With Hereditary, the simplicity is definitely there, and the quality of the film is superb, but there are hardly any jump scares. We’re scared because of the way the film focuses on manipulating the situation and character’s feelings, and with a sprinkling of supernatural elements here and there, just to ramp up the scare factor even more.

I was invested in Hereditary for all the right reasons, and it was because I was so drawn into the story, the horror kept the hairs on the back of my head, but cleverly placed the few jump scares in exactly the right places. When you’re lost in the story, wanting to know more, scared by the emotional elements, then it hit you with a jump scare, just to remind you this film isn’t remaining on the same level throughout. And, the few and far between jump scares mixed within the strong emotional atmosphere, there’s a good chance I would forget where those jump scares are on my second watch and be caught out by them just as I did before, keeping the film as fresh as on my first watch.

I absolutely do recommend Hereditary for a good night in, especially on Halloween night. I recommend Hereditary not purely because of how scary it is, but for the quality of the story, the actor’s performances, and the unique direction. Hereditary is a film that shouldn’t fall into obscurity as years passed, but hopefully remain at the top of many people’s lists as a new classic, and a must watch.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)