Sundance Hit ‘Hereditary’ Gets Trailer and Release Date

The Sundance Film Festival is known for debuting a variety of different films that often end up becoming the most talked-about movies of the year, even going on to score countless awards and nominations months after their premieres. In recent years, the festival has begun shining a light on horror films, with Hereditary earning almost unanimous praise from those who witnessed it. The film has earned its first trailer, which you can see above, and a poster, which you can see below.

When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited. Making his feature debut, writer-director Ari Aster unleashes a nightmare vision of a domestic breakdown that exhibits the craft and precision of a nascent auteur, transforming a familial tragedy into something ominous and deeply disquieting, and pushing the horror movie into chilling new terrain with its shattering portrait of heritage gone to hell.

Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd and Milly Shapiro star in the film.

Other festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival, South By Southwest and Fantastic Fest are more known for their genre fare, with Sundance slowly realizing how much horror films have to offer.

One of the biggest horror hits that premiered at last year’s festival was Get Out, which landed in theaters the following month. While the average public were capable of seeing the movie shortly after its debut, the film earned massive buzz, helping bring the R-rated February release past the $250 million worldwide total. More than just a financially successful film, Get Out also earned multiple Academy Awards nominations.

In 2015, The Witch became the most talked-about horror film of the festival, lauded for its eerie atmosphere and compelling performances. Unfortunately, audiences had to wait more than a year for its official release, not landing in theaters until February 2016. For some, the film’s buzz built to insurmountable heights, leading to disappointed audiences.

Luckily, audiences won’t have to wait much longer to check out Hereditary, as it lands in theaters on June 8.