The Theology of Hereditary
OVERVIEW: Hereditary was released in 2018 to roaring critical and box office reception. The film stars Toni Collette as Annie, a woman grieving the loss of her mother in the beginning of the film and the reigning matriarch of her family now. Co-starring Gabriel Byrne as her sensible husband, Alex Wolff as her eldest child, Peter, and newcomer Milly Shapiro as her daughter, Charlie. As the film progresses, it goes from a family drama centering around mental illness and how to cope with extreme grief into a supernatural occult thriller with horrifying tenacity. While off-putting to many theater-goers, the (literally) psychotic and tumultuous ending of the film has captured everyone who saw it--whether it was sold on them is another discussion. SPOILERS FOLLOW: Beginning and ending with a funeral, the first act of this film plays out almost like a sort of grief-porn, family drama. Riddled with dialog referencing trauma and mental illness, the film sets itself
