In the horror world, nothing quite says “creepy! but also maybe hug me!” like a well-placed doll. And in Ari Aster’s upcoming A24 release, “Hereditary,” the place is just crawling with them, thanks in part to star Toni Collette’s character’s bent towards building tiny models of the world around her. It’s a weird world, too. Distributor A24 has taken that particular element of the film, which bowed at Sundance and is set for a summer release, to some pretty wild ends, sending out creepy dolls to various audience members after they take in the chilling horror feature.
As the AV Club reports, “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins was one of the first to receive a doll after seeing the film at a recent midnight screening. The filmmaker puts it succinctly: “Y’all play WAAAAAAY tew damn much.”
He’s not exaggerating, because while A24 is sending out a wide variety of handmade dolls, Jenkins’ just might be the worst one. Take a look:
Man @A24 play too much 😭 After seeing the TERRIFYING @HereditaryMovie at a midnight screening last night (and checking every shadow of my room before going to bed), I woke up with THIS waiting outside my hotel room. Y’all play WAAAAAAY tew damn much 😭 pic.twitter.com/sKHQuuuIWa
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) March 13, 2018
IndieWire’s own Eric Kohn also got one of the charming little knickknacks in the mail:
And A24 even tweeted about the adorable new mementos, offering up a spread of the terrors to come. Nothing like fresh nightmare fuel.
No animals were harmed. @HereditaryMovie #SXSW pic.twitter.com/ENRXtbty63
— A24 (@A24) March 12, 2018
In our sterling Sundance review, David Ehrlich wrote, “Using minimal resources to his advantage, Aster transforms the setting into a claustrophobic maze of long hallways, creaky attics, and strange figures creeping in the background. Annie’s miniature models become a wondrous allegory for the sense that the fragile human emotions in play are toys of an indifferent universe that adheres to its own agenda.”
Anyway, enjoy seeing the film and then never, ever checking your mailbox again.
“Hereditary” opens in theaters nationwide June 8. Watch the first trailer below.
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