‘Hereditary’: Why Ari Aster Calls it a ‘Happy Ending’

‘Hereditary’, a psychological horror film directed by Ari Aster, examines the Graham family’s severe trauma after the passing of their controlling grandmother, Ellen. The movie tracks Annie (Toni Collette), her kids, and their journey into disturbing sadness and paranormal activity. In an interview, Aster described how the film serves as both a meditation on trauma and a powerful genre work as it explores the effects of familial trauma, making it a major theme in the story.

Charlie (Milly Shapiro), the youngest Graham kid, displays odd behaviour and estrangement, which intensifies following a sad incident. Charlie, who has a severe nut allergy, experiences a deadly allergic response after inadvertently eating cake that contains walnuts. Charlie is beheaded in a deadly accident after her brother Peter (Alex Wolff) swerves to avoid a deer while attempting to take her to the hospital. Annie’s downhill spiral begins with this catastrophe; she grows more and more unstable and turns to a grief support group for comfort.

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A woman named Joan (Ann Dowd) takes Annie to a séance in the group with the intention of speaking with Charlie’s ghost. Annie’s mother, Ellen, was the head of a cult that worshipped the demon Paimon, as this starts a series of revelations. After Paimon committed himself, attention turned to Charlie, despite Ellen’s attempt to call him into Annie’s brother. But after Charlie dies, Peter takes over as the demon’s new vessel.

Annie learns about her family’s troubling past throughout the movie, including discovering her mother’s headless body in the attic. Annie’s desire to defend her family grows as the tension rises, but following a heated altercation, she is tragically taken over by Paimon in the film’s closing minutes. In an effort to get away, Peter unintentionally lets Paimon’s spirit into his body and starts clicking his tongue like Charlie.

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Paimon’s final triumph is symbolized by the film’s ending, which finds Peter completely possessed and in a treehouse surrounded by cult members. Charlie, who he believes at last finds a place of rest, has been characterized by Aster as “happy” about the outcome. In the end, the movie explores how trauma can devour and change people and families, resulting in permanent change.

According to Aster, his personal encounters with trauma and its damaging impacts on families served as the impetus for ‘Hereditary’. Annie’s emotional collapse and her dollhouse dioramas, which portray her family’s traumatic past, serve as metaphors for the film’s exploration of this issue. Aster has indicated enthusiasm in the concept of a follow-up, despite the fact that there isn’t one yet. Due to their examination of codependency and familial relationships, fans also surmise that ‘Hereditary’ and Aster’s other film, ‘Midsommar’, have thematic similarities.

–Farheen Ali 

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