Research Guides: ENG 250: Film as Literature: Hereditary

The Film

Hereditary
When her mentally ill mother passes away, a woman named Annie and her husband, son and daughter all mourn her loss. The family turn to different means to handle their grief, including Annie and her daughter both flirting with the supernatural. They all begin to have disturbing, otherworldly experiences linked to the sinister secrets and emotional trauma that have been passed through the generations of their family.

Release Date: 2018

Run time: 127 minutes

Rating: R (Horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug use, and brief graphic nudity)

Studio: A24

Director: Ari Aster

Screenwriter(s): Ari Aster

Main Cast: Toni Collette. Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Anne Dowd, Gabriel Byrne

Gender and Contemporary Horror in Film by Samantha Holland (Editor); Robert Shail (Editor); Steven Gerrard (Editor)
ISBN: 1787698998
Publication Date: 2019-03-13
The horror genre will always remain current because it reflects our anxieties, shining a light onto our worst fears whilst creating worlds defined by darkness. Horror as a genre has always engaged with era-specific societal mores and moral panics, often about isolation or abandonment, changing family values and the role of women. It is often specifically about how gender is constructed in everyday life. Women are commonly defined in horror by their passivity, or monstrosity/sexuality or victimhood - or a mix of the three. At the same time women in horror are forced into psychological and physical torture ending in violent showdowns in which they emerge damaged but triumphant
A Companion to the Horror Film by Harry M. Benshoff (Editor)
ISBN: 9781118883648
Publication Date: 2014-08-18
This cutting-edge collection features original essays by eminent scholars on one of cinema's most dynamic and enduringly popular genres, covering everything from the history of horror movies to the latest critical approaches. Contributors include many of the finest academics working in the field, as well as exciting younger scholars. Varied and comprehensive coverage, from the history of horror to broader issues of censorship, gender, and sexuality.