Ari Aster’s Hereditary is not a horror film… it is a tragedy.

And so when people approached this film, last year, expecting the dodgy faces from Truth or Dare, Valakabelle or The Last Key‘s horny sex-pest ghost to leap out of a fridge and give them a mild panic attack, their disappointment is understandable.

But at its core, Aster’s precisely crafted debut is a psalm about grief and mental illness: tracking model-sculptor Annie (Toni Collete) and her family (of which Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolff and Gabrielle Bryne are all apart off, each haunting in their own right) as they individually cope with a death in the family, slowly realising something graver is afoot.

And although that plot summary is vague; it is purposefully so. Because while the basic beats can be explained, with ease (until the bat-s*it insane climax, that is), beforehand: much like 2001 or Se7en, Hereditary is a film that thrives on going in blind – as like those two films, it is an experience. Not exactly a pleasant one to show the grandkids (neither are they, to be fair), but a visceral one nonetheless.

“Hereditary”, as an idea, is the passing on of traits from a parent to offspring.

In most circumstances, this is just the colour of one’s hair or the slight bend of one’s toe: but here, it is the demons and nightmares a parent experiences that, unbeknownst to the child, are detrimental to their very existence…. yay?

The existential horror of this is light-years more effective than the cats that go “Boo!” from a shoe-cupboard, but Aster also ventures – to mixed results – into traditional (?) horror by the climax, utilising the film’s sole jump-scare startlingly well and utilising old naked people… maybe-well? It’s a weird finale that seemingly exists just to wrap up the narrative, but as far as old-naked-people horror is concerned… it isn’t overly bad?

Even still, the aforementioned Toni Collete excels no matter the environment, playing Annie with a twisted vulnerability and anguish: brewing solemn sorrow beneath a hyper-active mask of rage. She is broken and distraught… and although Olivia Colman was great in The Favourite and Lady Gaga…. there in A Star is Born, she is also lacking a much deserved Oscar!

Though to be fair, if I was in charge of the Academy Awards (which I am, for good reason, not) – Hereditary‘s credentials would not end there.

Ari Aster and DP Pawel Pogorzelski deserve awards for Best Director and Cinematography respectively, as they craft a visually stunning… nightmare. From the very first shot to the last linger on absolute bleakness, Hereditary is a technically immaculate experience.

The lighting is fantastic; as is the editing, with certain jump cuts being as brutally bleak as they are existentially terrifying.

And the point I am trying to make with all this is that it is great fun for the whole family!

The little ones will adore the nuanced, perfectly paced, narrative while Granny will surely treasure the old naked creeps at the end.

And horror fans are sure to love the off-brand horror this film presents: not of the jumpy kind, but of the kind where it lingers with you past the end credits.

Though in truth, Hereditary isn’t for everyone; and I wouldn’t recommend for McDonald’s to make children’s toys out of it.

But what Aster has crafted is so distinct and unique: that no matter his next project or goal… I now desperately want to see it. And after one damn film… that is mighty impressive.