Ari Aster confirms that there is a Hereditary prequel just waiting to be made. He also explains why it hasn’t gone to production yet.
During an audience Q&A for Hereditary at The American Cinematheque’s annual Bleak Week event, which is screening all four of Aster’s films, the acclaimed director discussed what the future might hold for his debut feature. “I wrote a prequel to [Hereditary],” Aster stated. “It never feels like the right time. It’s a prequel, not a sequel, so I don’t know where this goes.”
Hereditary Came Out of Nowhere to Launch Ari Aster to Household Name Status
Written and directed by Aster as his first feature, Hereditary arrived in theaters in 2018 and immediately became the then-latest horror sensation. Hereditary stars Toni Collette as Annie Graham, a miniatures artist living with her psychiatrist husband, Gabriel Byrne’s Steve, 16-year-old son, Alex Wolff’s Peter, and 13-year-old daughter, Milly Shapiro’s Charlie. Following the death of Annie’s estranged mother, the family is plagued by all manner of unfortunate circumstances, all of which belie a darker, more horrifying truth just waiting to surface.
Upon its release, Hereditary proved to be a massive success, raking in more than $90.2 million at the box office against a $10 million budget and receiving near endless praise from critics and audiences alike. Hereditary was nominated for more than two dozen major industry awards, of which it won 11 in total, including Best Wide Release, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, and Best Kill at the 2019 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.
The overwhelmingly positive response to Hereditary not only launched Aster’s career as a filmmaker, but it also helped cement the presence of the “Elevated Horror” subgenre, which was already emerging at the time of Hereditary‘s release. Of course, not everyone has been quite so keen on establishing Elevated Horror as a unique subgenre unto itself, nor has everyone associated with the movement openly embraced it, Aster included.
Why Ari Aster Rejects the Elevated Horror Label
“I hate the term elevated horror, especially because it’s sort of a box that I was put in and horror fans took umbrage,” Aster explained. “‘Who do you think you are?’ I didn’t say it, I didn’t say it… I felt like I was working in a tradition. I wasn’t trying to change anything. [Hereditary] is very, almost self-consciously nodding to Rosemary’s Baby at the end of the film. I wanted to be explicit about it because I felt indebted. I was just trying to make a really good horror movie.”
Aster went on to note that, while he acknowledges Hereditary‘s impact on the genre, he was far from the only one to be thrust into the “elevated horror” space by fans and critics. “I suppose I see its influence here and there, but this film has so many influences that I also see these things where I’m like, yeah, they’re in the same tradition as mine. [Robert Eggers] was doing the same thing.” Aster added, “The Witch came before me.”
- Release Date
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June 8, 2018
- Runtime
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2h 7m
- Director
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Ari Aster
