Horror Short Review: Hereditary (2024)

From Trepidation comes Hereditary, a horror short that with some creative aspects, in particular, how it portrays mental health conditions and how it leaves the viewer questioning reality.

We meet Lucy, the main character, as she teeters on the edge of a high-rise building seemingly contemplating throwing herself off it. One look at her face tells you that she has reached a desperate point in her life, but not quite to the point where she can bring herself to end it.

Stepping back, she collapses with her head in her hands, and it’s now that we see the demonic figure standing nearby laughing at her. It seems as though Lucy is haunted, and she is the latest in a long line that have been driven to insanity by this demon.

It’s a cool idea, one that isn’t outwardly saying the demon exists, as it can also be seen as a metaphor for a mental health condition (such as depression). While this is portrayed well, the short does want to scare, and uses the demon in jump-scare moments that aren’t that interesting. In fact, from a scare perspective, the short fails as even the demon isn’t that menacing looking.

Forgivable? To some degree, yes, because scares are subjective, but it’s hard to imagine anyone really being that frightened by what they see here. It’s still a worthy watch though.