Our horror movie marathon continues with Ari Aster's Hereditary (2018), starring Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Ann Dowd, Alex Wolf, and Milly Shapiro.
First, we're starting off this week's Halloween episode by talking about Halloween itself: discussing our favorite costumes, sharing our memories of trick-or-treating, and—most importantly—arguing over the best (and worst) Halloween candy.
Then, we're sitting down for The Unenthusiastic Critic's first viewing of Hereditary. Ari Aster's debut feature was a critical and commercial hit, and seemingly catapulted itself to the status of new canon classic within the horror genre. It was not, however, a movie Michael particularly liked on first viewing, so he's pulling Nakea in for a second opinion. Is Hereditary a poignant and profound meditation on mental illness, generational trauma, and family dysfunction, delivered through the metaphors of horror? Or is it a slightly goofy shock-fest clothed in the trappings of a serious drama?
Program
00:00: Prologue: from Hereditary
00:38: Preliminary Discussion: Halloween
13:47: Musical Interlude: "Creepy Doll" by Jonathan Coulton
14:52: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
21:47: Interlude: Original Trailer
23:47: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:14:24: Outro and Next Week's Movie
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Hereditary (dir. Ari Aster, A24, 2018).
—Links and Resources: "60 Greatest Horror Movies of the 21st Century," Rolling Stone; "Hereditary director Ari Aster on family trauma and researching that ending," Emily VanDerWerff, Vox; "How Did Hereditary Get a D+ From CinemaScore? For the Crime of Being More Artful Than Sensational," Owen Gleiberman, Variety; "Hereditary: The Year’s Scariest Movie Required Years to Make and Painful Experiences No One Will Discuss
," Eric Kohn, Indiewire; "Hereditary's Ari Aster Answers Our Burning Questions about his 'Upsetting' Horror Film," Jordan Crucciola, Vulture.
—If you'd like to see your hosts in their childhood Halloween costumes, click here.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
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—Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
—"Creepy Doll" by Jonathan Coulton is licensed under CC BY NC 3.0.
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