At a Q&A after a screening of Hereditary at the American Cinematheque’s annual Bleak Week, writer-director Ari Aster revealed he wrote a prequel to his celebrated film with Toni Collette. “Should I say this? I wrote a prequel to this. It never feels like the right time to do it.” 

Upon its release in 2018, Hereditary was an indie horror phenomenon that grossed $90 million on a budget of $10 million, quickly becoming regarded as one of the scariest films of the 2010s and a pinnacle of the “elevated horror” subgenre. Aster, however, rejects that label. “I hate the term elevated horror, especially because it’s sort of a box that I was put in,” he says after the screening. “A lot of horror fans took umbrage and were like, ‘Who do you think you are?’ I didn’t say it!”

Reflecting on the enduring appreciation for the film, Aster, whose latest film Eddington was highly divisive, suggested that it was a conflicting experience for his debut to continue to be his most beloved work. “It’s interesting ‘cause it’s my first film, and it’s the film that seems to have the biggest centre of gravity. So in some ways it’s really irritating. I’m trying to get better here. Every film I make I actually feel kind of prouder of than the last. It’s diminishing returns as far as their reception is concerned.”

Aster also commented on the success of Obsession and Backrooms, two indie horror films that are breaking records and dominating the box office. “This is a really interesting month, with Curry [Barker] and Kane [Parsons]. I hadn’t seen Kane Parsons’ shorts until Backrooms came out. He’s really interesting. He’s 20 years old, and what he’s been doing on Blender — he’s clearly following a vision.”

Aster’s next film, Scapegoat, is set at A24 with Scarlett Johansson attached as the lead. Plot details are being kept under wraps.