‘Hereditary’ // a movie discussion
Explicit content warning
06/15/18 • 23 min
Hereditary is a story about grief, so naturally, it begins with a death. Artist Annie Graham attends the funeral of her mother, Ellen, who passed away before the film begins. Through a eulogy, Annie reveals that she had a tenuous relationship with her mother. Ellen was domineering yet distant, shutting out her own family with her secret rituals and secret friends.
Although there was a period of estrangement, Annie not even letting Ellen anywhere near her firstborn, Peter, Annie eventually allowed her mother to live with her by the time her daughter, Charlie, was born. Subsequently, Ellen took a disturbing interest in Charlie, even insisting on being the one to feed her.
So it's no surprise when Charlie begins seeing apparitions of her dead grandmother not long after the funeral. From then on, Hereditary only gets weirder, hitting full tilt by its last act. Despite its unambiguous, bizarre ending, Hereditary's success is placed in Ari Aster's command atmosphere, foregoing cheap jump scares in favor of an escalating, foreboding tension that permeates each scene.
J. McVay and Jacqueline discuss the debut film by writer and director Ari Aster, distributed by A24.
Hereditary stars Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Ann Dowd.
===
Episode Credits:
Producer/Host: J. McVay
Guests: Jacqueline Soller
Music: Hansdale Hsu
Originally released as part of a previous podcast on 6/15/18
Now released and distributed by Stereoactive Media
Hereditary is a story about grief, so naturally, it begins with a death. Artist Annie Graham attends the funeral of her mother, Ellen, who passed away before the film begins. Through a eulogy, Annie reveals that she had a tenuous relationship with her mother. Ellen was domineering yet distant, shutting out her own family with her secret rituals and secret friends.
Although there was a period of estrangement, Annie not even letting Ellen anywhere near her firstborn, Peter, Annie eventually allowed her mother to live with her by the time her daughter, Charlie, was born. Subsequently, Ellen took a disturbing interest in Charlie, even insisting on being the one to feed her.
So it's no surprise when Charlie begins seeing apparitions of her dead grandmother not long after the funeral. From then on, Hereditary only gets weirder, hitting full tilt by its last act. Despite its unambiguous, bizarre ending, Hereditary's success is placed in Ari Aster's command atmosphere, foregoing cheap jump scares in favor of an escalating, foreboding tension that permeates each scene.
J. McVay and Jacqueline discuss the debut film by writer and director Ari Aster, distributed by A24.
Hereditary stars Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, and Ann Dowd.
===
Episode Credits:
Producer/Host: J. McVay
Guests: Jacqueline Soller
Music: Hansdale Hsu
Originally released as part of a previous podcast on 6/15/18
Now released and distributed by Stereoactive Media
Previous Episode
‘The Beguiled’ // a movie discussion
J. McVay and Charles Hinshaw discuss The Beguiled, a film written and directed by Sofia Coppola and distributed by Focus Features.
The Beguiled stars Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Colin Farrell, and Elle Fanning.
===
Episode Credits:
Producer/Host: J. McVay
Guests: Charles Hinshaw
Music: Hansdale Hsu
Originally released as part of a previous podcast on 6/30/17
Now released and distributed by Stereoactive Media
Next Episode
‘Us’ // a movie discussion
US is Jordan Peele's sophomore directorial effort. Adelaide Wilson and her family visit their summer home in Santa Cruz. Although the boardwalk is a popular spot in the area, Adelaide has reservations about going because she had a traumatic experience there as a child. Although she relents and the family makes their way to the beach, Adelaide's fears escalate when her son seems to go missing.
Despite quickly finding him, the family decides to return home. Later that night, an eerie occurrence happens. A family dressed all in red stands in their driveway, holding hands, unmoving. What follows is an anxiety ridden nightmare straight out of a Twilight Zone episode. Peele once again deftly balances horror and comedy. The film's high intensity is cut with moments of levity to help ease the tension for the viewer.
While Peele's first film, Get Out, found its horrors in an all too familiar situation, playing on the friction that can arise amongst the racially mixed group, US garners its attention from something entirely unusual. Being afraid of the other when the other is us.
J. McVay and Jacqueline discuss the 2nd film by writer and director Jordan Peele, distributed by Universal Pictures.
Us stars Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, and Madison Curry.
===
Episode Credits:
Producer/Host: J. McVay
Guests: Jacqueline Soller
Music: Hansdale Hsu
Originally released as part of a previous podcast on 3/29/19
Now released and distributed by Stereoactive Media
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