What is the calculated structure of “Hereditary”, which has both freshness and seasonedness?

Fragments of past horror movies that appear one after another

The film begins with the Graham family, consisting of parents, brother and sister, heading to their deceased grandmother's funeral. As a result, strange and strange events begin to happen to the family one after another, their relationship gradually deteriorates, and the story eventually leads to an irreversible and horrifying tragedy.

At the beginning of the film, the camera zooms in on an elaborate miniature mansion, creating an optical illusion in which it appears as though a small person is living inside. As the story progresses, we learn that the miniature was created by his mother (Toni Collette), who is an artist, and that it is a replica of the very house in which the miniature is placed. This scene gives the audience the impression that the family life in this film is depicted through a cold, bird's-eye view.

“Hereditary” © 2018 Hereditary Film Productions, LLC

It feels like a fresh production, but a very similar depiction actually exists in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining (1980). In this way, scenes that feel new in this film often seem to have been incorporated from previous works. Furthermore, they cut across the various genres that exist within horror films and lack a sense of unity.

For example, there is a scene in which the protagonist's mother sees her supposedly dead grandmother in a dark room. The spirit does not attack her, and it is unclear why it appears, but it is this incomprehensibility that makes it so frightening. This is similar to the horror presentation of "Japanese horror," which was once a huge hit in the United States and was partially inherited by the works of director James Wan, known as the "horror master." And this modesty gives room to make one feel that ghosts are something created by the human mind, generating a kind of literary quality. It also ties into the realm of psycho-horror, which links fear and madness.

Horror work that makes you fear your inner self