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Jake Schreier’s winding path to Thunderbolts* feels oddly preordained considering his two roommates at NYU, Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, are also MCU alums.

In 2012, the Berkeley native kicked off his feature directorial career with the Ford-written Sundance darling, Robot & Frank, before making the jump to the low-key studio hit, Paper Towns (2015). In between it all, he became a prolific television and music video director, helming idiosyncratic series like Kidding and Lodge 49, as well as inventive videos for artists such as Haim, Kendrick Lamar and Benny Blanco.

In 2023, he served as an EP and in-house director on Lee Sung Jin’s (aka Sonny Lee) Beef, which would later win them both an Emmy for outstanding limited or anthology series. The Steven Yeun and Ali Wong-led feud narrative brilliantly balanced dark drama and comedy, while poignantly tracking the internal struggle of each main character. Schreier starting...

Brace yourselves, Marvel fans, Thunderbolts* is hitting the theaters on May 2, with Lewis Pullman appearing as Robert Reynolds. Do you know what this means? We’re in for a treat—Sentry and The Void, are both set to hit the screen. But guess what? The Void isn’t your average baddie with a flashy suit—this one’s got some seriously dark vibes.

So much so that director Jake Schreier recently spilled how a few of the scenes showcasing his powers are inspired by one of the most tragic real-life events in history—Hiroshima. During an interview with Collider, Schreier mentioned how the eerie shadows and haunting visuals from Hiroshima helped shape The Void’s look and feel.

The Void’s powers in Thunderbolts* are inspired by Hiroshima images

We know, we already caught your attention, so let’s talk about the villain who’s not just scary—but historically haunting.

We’ve got exciting, multiverse-sized news for you, Los Angeles! To kick off this stacked summer of blockbusters, Collider is teaming up with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios, and IMAX to offer our readers the chance to catch one of this year’s most anticipated Marvel movies of the year in IMAX before the crowds. We’re delighted to announce an advanced screening of Thunderbolts* before this ragtag team takes over cinemas in May, as well as an exclusive Q&a conversation with filmmaker and director Jake Schreier (Beef). In addition, Thunderbolts* was filmed for IMAX, which means that's the way you want to experience this movie. Check out the full details below to enter for your chance to win free tickets to this special event.

In Thunderbolts*, the Avengers are preoccupied, so naturally, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) seizes an opportunity to capitalize on a bad situation.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a franchise known for huge action blockbusters, with some deviations to their formula for applicable content, while A24 is an independent movie and television company that prioritizes an auteur’s aesthetic as well as more intimate character dynamics. Marvel capitalizes on a specific opportunity with Thunderbolts* and framed its latest marketing material for the upcoming movie within the context of the cast and crew’s A24 connection.

Kevin Feige and the MCU decision-makers clearly perceive A24 productions as having a niche filmmaking advantage, at least in terms of a project’s quality. And most importantly, the filmmakers may have purposefully brought some of those cinematic practices and perspectives to Thunderbolts*.

After all, the Thor trailer does not highlight director Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearian background, and the advertisements for Avenger epics do not point out that many of the stars are Oscar nominees. This Thunderbolts* campaign...

Following the lackluster response to Captain America 4, the MCU is now preparing for its next release in the form of Thunderbolts*. Marketing is now in full-swing for the upcoming team-up movie, with a new trailer recently dropping online. However, the movie has seemingly opted for a strange marketing strategy.

Florence Pugh and David Harbour in Thunderbolts* (Credit: Marvel Studios).

In the latest trailer, the marketing has opted to highlight one aspect of the movie that is commonly seen in trailers for A24 movies. However, a film from the multi-billion dollar MCU choosing the same strategy seems like a desperate move for the franchise. Here is what fans are saying about the latest trailer for Thunderbolts* and why I cannot defend the MCU anymore.

The new Thunderbolts* trailer opts for a strange marketing strategy

Thunderbolts* is the upcoming thirty-sixth installment in the MCU and the final entry in its fifth phase.

"The Avengers are not coming. Who will keep people safe?" These guys? Doubt it. Marvel has debuted a wacky joke (or not?) trailer for Thunderbolts*, the kooky anti-hero MCU movie kicking off the summer movie season on May 2nd. This whole trailer is a riff on A24's trailers with the same style & title cards. A ragtag group of bad guys is sent on covert missions for the American government. The fun ensemble cast includes David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Lewis Pullman as Bob aka "Sentry", and Florence Pugh as Black Widow Yelena Belova, plus Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, Geraldine Viswanathan as Mel, and finally Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the handler Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The trailer points out this has: The Green Knight cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo, Hereditary production designer Grace Yun, Minari editor Harry Yoon,...

Marvel has released a new teaser for their next movie, Thunderbolts*!

The new minute-long teaser clip shares some of the cast and crew’s past indie credits, seemingly trying to give the movie a lesser-than big Marvel blockbuster look.

Previously, the film has been billed as being presented by “Marvel Studios

and a crew of indie veterans who sold out.”

Keep reading to find out more…

In the teaser, the below credits are shown across the screen:

From the stars of Midsommar (Florence Pugh), A Different Man (Sebastian Stan), & You Hurt My Feelings (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

The writers & director of Beef (director Jake Schreier and writers Joanna Calo and Joanna Calo)

The cinematographer of The Green Knight (Andrew Droz Palermo)

The production designer of Hereditary (Grace Yun)

The editor of Minari (Harry Yoon)

The composers of Everything Everywhere All At Once (Son Lux)

Also starring in the upcoming movie include David Harbour,...

The latest preview for “Thunderbolts*” touts the Marvel movie’s connection to another cinematic universe — that of indie film favorite A24.

The new clip ditches Marvel’s traditional sweeping orchestrations and big action setpieces in favor of slick techno music and title cards highlighting that many of the film’s stars, creatives and artisans have previously worked on A24 films.

First revealed by Letterboxd, the “exclusive first look” intercuts shots of Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in their Marvel gear with their A24 acting credits.

The teaser gives the Marvel Studios logo an A24-esque makeover and features stylized cards for “the editor of ‘Minari'” (Harry Yoon) and “the writers and director of ‘Beef'” (director Jake Schreier and co-writers Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo). “The Green Knight” cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo and “Hereditary” production designer Grace Yun also get a shoutout, with “Everything Everywhere All At Once...

A new “Thunrderbolts*” trailer dropped Friday, and it this time, the Marvel Studios blockbuster took a surprising approach to its own material: It wants more indie cred.

In the trailer exclusive to Letterboxd, the 65-second spot highlights the behind-the-scenes creative team’s credentials across some of the decades most successful indie films, from “Minari” to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” In other words, the Marvel film began marketing itself as an A24 movie.

Title cards include:

From the stars of “Midsommar,” “A Different Man” and “You Hurt My Feelings” … the writers and director of “Beef” (referring to director Jake Schreier and writers Joanna Calo and Joanna Calo) … the cinematographer of “The Green Knight” (Andrew Droz Palermo) … the production designer of “Hereditary” (Grace Yun) … the editor of “Minari” (Harry Yoon) And the composer of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Son Lux)

Watch the full trailer below:

Exclusive new look at @MarvelStudios' Thunderbolts* starring Florence Pugh,...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2024 Oscars Predictions:

Best Achievement in Production Design Barbie

Weekly Commentary: If you’re keeping track of the contenders vying for Academy Awards this season, you might have noted Variety’s prediction that Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” could clinch a single award for production design, sparking a flurry of discussions within the punditry community.

Poor Things, Oppenheimer and Saltburn won Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) Awards in the categories for fantasy, period and contemporary live action features, respectively, at the 28th Adg Awards, which were handed out Saturday at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Ovation Hollywood.

Poor Things and Oppenheimer are additionally nominated for the Oscar in production design, alongside Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, which were also Adg nominated in their respective categories.

Over the past five years, the winner of the Adg’s period film prize has gone on to win the Oscar for production design twice: In 2020, for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and in 2021, for Mank. During that time, the production design Oscar went to the winner of the fantasy category twice, in 2019, for Black Panther, and 2022, for Dune. A year ago, eventual Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front was nominated in the period...

Production design Oscar nominees “Barbie,” “Poor Things,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” “Napoleon” all competed for the 28th Art Directors Guild Awards February 10 at Ovation Hollywood’s Ray Dolby Ballroom. “Poor Things” prevailed over “Barbie” for fantasy, and is now in the driver’s seat to win the Oscar. Throughout the season, it has been a race between these two big feminist films constructed around rebirth and unconventional world-building.

Meanwhile, “Oppenheimer” took period honors over “Asteroid City,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” and “Napoleon.” Contemporary winner “Saltburn,” though, is not in the Oscar running. The animated feature winner was “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

The TV winners for one-hour period, fantasy, and contemporary were “The Great,” “The Last of Us,” and “Succession.” Movie or limited series went to “Beef,” and the half-hour series winner was “Reservation Dogs.”

As previously announced, the Adg Awards honored Mimi Leder (Apple TV’s...

“Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” “Saltburn,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” have won the top feature-film awards at the 28th annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards, which were held on Saturday in Hollywood.

“Oppenheimer” won for period film, “Poor Things” for fantasy, “Saltburn” for contemporary and “Spider-Man” for animated film.

“Poor Things” was considered a bit of a surprise winner given that “Barbie” was also nominated the category, and winners Shona Heath and James Price said in their acceptance speech that they were not expecting the win. The victory might put them closer to a victory at next month’s Oscars, where “Poor Things” has 11 nominations.

In the television categories, awards went to “Succession,” “The Great,” “Reservation Dogs,” “The Last of Us,” “Beef,” “Frasier,” “Squid Game: The Challenge,” and the 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony. The first three titles were honored for their final seasons on TV.

Taylor Swift...

Poor Things, Oppenheimer and Saltburn took top film honors at the 28th annual Art Directors Guild Awards tonight. The Neighborhood and New Girl actor Max Greenfield hosted the show from Ovation Hollywood’s Ray Dolby Ballroom. Check out the full winners list below.

Oppenheimer‘s Ruth De Jong and Poor Things’ James Price and Shona Heath will face off for Best Production Design at the Academy Awards next month. They’ll go up against the production designers and set decorators behind Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon.

The Art Directors Guild divides its top film prizes into Fantasy, Period and Contemporary Feature categories, which went to Poor Things, Oppenheimer and Saltburn, respectively. Since the trophy show launched in 1996, the winner of one of those has gone on to win the Art Direction/Production Design Oscar in 18 of the 27 years. It had a run of nine in a row snapped last year,...

“Saltburn,” “Oppenheimer” and “Poor Things” were among the winners at the 28th Annual Art Director’s Guild Awards which took place in Hollywood on Saturday evening.

Hosted by Max Greenfield, the Adg Awards celebrated outstanding production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, animated features and music videos.

“Poor Things” production designers Shona Heath and James Price drew visual references ranging from the paintings of French futurist Albert Robida to Francis Ford Coppola’s “Dracula” to build Yorgos Lanthimos’ extraordinary sets.

In “Oppenheimer,” Ruth De Jong built Los Alamos from the ground up. But her most challenging task came when she had to build the Oval Office for the film’s third act. Working with supervising art director, Samantha Englander, the two had floated the idea of finding a pre-existing build of the Oval Office. They looked no further than HBO’s beloved political satire “Veep.” Not only was “Veep...

The 2024 Art Directors Guild nominations have been unveiled, mirroring the Oscars shortlists for crafts thus far.

The 28th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards celebrates production design achievements in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and animated feature films. The 2024 Adg Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 10 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, Ovation Hollywood, with Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Max Greenfield hosting.

As previously announced, legendary production designer Lawrence G. Paull will be inducted into the Adg Hall of Fame as part of the ceremony.

“It’s our honor and privilege to gather the guild to recognize the excellence among our members,” award show producers Michael Allen Glover, Adg and Megan Elizabeth Bell, Adg said in a joint statement.

In the Period Feature Film category, Wes Anderson’s lush “Asteroid City” is up against Martin Scorsese’s gritty “Killers of the Flower Moon,” with...

The Art Directors Guild has unveiled nominations for its 28th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which celebrate the year’s best achievements in theatrical motion pictures, TV, commercials, music videos and animated features. See the full list below.

The guild divides its top film prizes into Fantasy, Period and Contemporary Feature categories. Since the trophy show launched in 1996, the winner of one of those has gone on to win the Art Direction/Production Design Oscar in 18 of the 27 years. It had a run of nine in a row snapped last year, when All Quiet on the Western Front went on to score the Academy Award after the Art Directors lauded Everything Everywhere All at Once (Fantasy), Babylon (Period) and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Contemporary).

Winners will be announced February 10 at Ovation Hollywood’s Ray Dolby Ballroom. The late production designer Lawrence G. Paull, a Blade Runner Oscar...

“Saltburn,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Asteroid City,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are among the films singled out for excellence by the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800).

The guild announced the nominations for its 28th Excellence in Production Design Awards in motion pictures, television, commercial and music video categories.

Adg Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony on Feb. 10 at Ovation Hollywood’s Ray Dolby Ballroom. Max Greenfield will host the ceremony.

“It’s our honor and privilege to gather the guild to recognize the excellence among our members,” says award show producers Michael Allen Glover, Adg and Megan Elizabeth Bell, Adg in a joint statement.

The Adg divides live-action features into three categories. “Asteroid City,” “Killers of the Flower Moon”

“Maestro,” “Napoleon” and “Oppenheimer” were nominated in the period feature film category.

“Barbie,” “The Creator,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Poor Things” and “Wonka” led the fantasy film category.

The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) has revealed the nominations for its 28th annual Excellence in Production Design Awards, which will be handed out Feb. 10 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Ovation Hollywood.

The production designers on Asteroid City, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, Napoleon and Oppenheimer were nominated in the category for a period movie. For a fantasy film, the nominees are Barbie, The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Poor Things and Wonka. And the Adg chose Beau is Afraid, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Killer, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Saltburn as its contemporary film noms.

Over the past five years, the winner of the Adg’s period film prize has gone on to win the Oscar for production design twice: In 2020, for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and in 2021 for Mank. The production design Oscar went to the winner of...

Emmy-nominated Beef director Jake Schreier is directing the upcoming Marvel movie, Thunderbolts. On top of that, Beef creator Lee Sung Jin was brought in to work on the script, Beef star Steven Yeun was recruited to take on a key role in the film, and Thunderbolts also has Beef's editor Harry Yoon on board, the show’s production designer Grace Yun, and it’s art director Michael Hersey as well. Those are a lot of links between Beef and Thunderbolts, but that’s not all of them. Apparently there are some story similarities as well.

Writer and director Celine Song presents a question at the very beginning of “Past Lives”: Who are these people sitting together at a cozy Lower East Side bar? But the answer is as much about place as it is about Hae Sung (Tao Yoo) and Nora (Greta Lee). The A24 film shows their relationship in three very different places and times — as children in Seoul, as young adults reconnecting over the internet from different continents, and then meeting again in New York City years later — and while they’re always wonderful foils and complements for each other, at each point, something isn’t quite right.

In the middle section of the film, where Hae Sung and Nora reconnect 12 years after Nora’s family immigrated to Canada, what makes their relationship feel both special and burdensome is the time difference. It was important to Song that the audience experience the...

From its angrily ornate title cards to its icily appointed doom house of crowns, the art and design elements of “Beef” — Netflix’s 10-episode series from creator Lee Sung Jin — provide the bleak road rage dramedy with a subtle brand of ardent aggression to match its one-upmanship revenge fantasy. The tactile, class-conscious aesthetic of haves (Ali Wong’s Amy) and have-nots (Steven Yeun’s Danny), created by production designer Grace Yun and art director Michael Hersey, pursue a metaphorical vision.

Here, curated paintings, sculptures and furnishings — in gallery and home settings — are equitable to the mood swings of its principal characters.

“The characters are real and complex. The rage coming from Amy and Danny was so well-written, and before I even read the first episode Sonny [Lee Sung Jin’s nickname] sent me an idea for the character art,” Yun told Variety. “I knew where I wanted its look to go.”

Matching the hyperactive road...

Steven Yeun has revealed more about his role in Marvel Studios' upcoming Thunderbolts film, which could hint at a short MCU career for the actor. Steven Yeun rose to fame as Glenn Rhee on AMC's The Walking Dead, though he has since had starring roles in Okja, Minari, Nope, and the 2023 comedy series Beef. In February 2023, it was announced that Yeun would be joining the ensemble cast of Thunderbolts in a major but undisclosed role. Not much is known about Yeun's key role in Thunderbolts, but the actor has revealed a little more about why he wanted to join the MCU.

Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced the development of Thunderbolts at 2022's Sdcc, and the line-up of the anti-hero team was revealed later that year at the D23 Expo. As part of the McU's Phase 5, Thunderbolts will bring together morally questionable characters from previous MCU projects, with Florence Pugh,...

This time last year, A24 released “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” in which the first version of Evelyn Wong that we meet is the least successful out of all her multiverse iterations, the one where the decision tree of her life has led to the worst outcome. But some of that is down to bad luck or chance. But in A24’s “Beef” — which shares a cinematographer with “Eeaao” — Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong) seem to actively make the worst choices they possibly can over and over again.

And so Lee Sung Jin’s Netflix series gave cinematographer Larkin Seiple a very different challenge from his work on The Daniels’ film. The camera itself is often the straight man of “Beef,” finding just the right compositions to frame and reframe the protagonists in their ever-deepening revenge spiral without ever drawing too much attention to itself.

“We wanted to...

Warning: This story contains mild spoilers for “Beef,” available to watch on Netflix now.

Lee Sung Jin, the creator and showrunner of Netflix’s “Beef,” first worked with Steven Yeun and Ali Wong on the animated series “Tuca & Bertie.” But their latest collaboration sees the three reunite to craft a Netflix show along an A24 sensibility. “Beef,” which dropped on the streaming service on Apr. 6, traces the intersecting lives of Yeun’s Danny and Wong’s Amy after the two engage in a vitriolic road rage incident that sets both on a collision course to chaos. “Amy and Danny may differ in gender, class and career path, but they share a self-destructive nihilism that each seems to recognize in the other, even if they can’t articulate it,” writes Variety TV critic Alison Herman.

Rounding out the main cast are Young Mazino, who plays Danny’s younger brother Paul,...

"Hereditary" opens on a shot of a treehouse seen through a window before an ominously slow pan around the room reveals a dollhouse sitting on a table. The camera dollies in to focus on a bedroom, which as it comes closer is shown to be an actual room, tracked onto the dollhouse with VFX. This opening sequence is at once unsettling and intriguing. What does the dollhouse have to do with anything? Well, according to director Ari Aster, it's an important metaphor for the film as a whole.

The filmmaker's 2018 psychological horror involves an exploration of grief and family dysfunction, signaling Aster's desire to make something unique with his debut feature while delivering arguably more effective and long-lasting scares than most out-and-out horror movies. Aster told NPR that while he embraces the genre with which he's been most closely associated, he initially pitched "Hereditary" as, "a family tragedy that curdles into a nightmare,...

There’s breathless, relentless energy to the work of Josephine Decker, a trait usually accompanied by a sense of the unexpected, never quite knowing where her narrative may turn or how her characters could express their mercurial emotions. Her latest film The Sky Is Everywhere, adapted by Jandy Nelson from her own novel, features a strong sense of the former without ever offering the latter. What results is an aesthetically imaginative, narratively banal YA adaptation hitting too-familiar beats despite its relatively invigorating style.

Following the sudden death of her older sister to fatal heart arrhythmia––the same issue that claimed the life of their mother––17-year-old Lennie Walker (Grace Kaufman), a talented clarinetist, is adrift. Understandably still reeling from the loss, Lennie attempts to rebuild her life in a moment of transition when others her age are consumed by the promise of young love and limitless possibilities of the future...

Recently, this critic was reminded of the existence of author Lurlene McDaniel’s sizable bibliography of young adult books focused on kids and teens dealing with horrible illnesses, ailments, and eventual death. McDaniel is hardly the only YA author to focus on such topics — though she’s certainly the most prolific — but for a generation of readers, it was McDaniel who introduced such heavy plots as something the younger set could be trusted to understand. In 2010, Jandy Nelson’s debut novel “The Sky Is Everywhere” continued the tradition, following a heartbroken sister attempting to deal with the messy emotional aftermath of her beloved big sister’s death.

Grief is a fertile, if uncomfortable topic, and Nelson’s book approached it with the kind of open-hearted honesty it deserved, wrapped up in a careful package that made it accessible enough for the teenage audience it was meant to serve. A cinematic version?...

Ramy Youssef is the star, executive producer and writer behind Hulu’s new critically acclaimed comedy “Ramy,” about a first-generation American Muslim millennial. Youssef previously had roles in such projects as “Mr. Robot,” “Why Him?” and “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot.”

Youssef recently chatted with Gold Derby senior editor Rob Licuria about his intentions behind “Ramy,” not always being politically correct and the positive response the show has received. Watch the exclusive video interview above and read the complete transcript below.

SEEEmmy Experts say Ramy Youssef (‘Ramy’) could follow in the footsteps of Donald Glover and Aziz Ansari

Gold Derby: Ramy, the show breaks some ground because it centers around an American Muslim and that’s the premise of the show, but is it fair to say that it goes way beyond that by exploring all of the stuff that people in their 20s and 30s come up against?...

In addition to creating prosthetics for “Hereditary,” multidisciplinary Toronto-based visual effects artist Steve Newburn designed and built the miniature house and dioramas that are key to the storytelling in writer-director Ari Aster’s supernatural horror film, now in theaters.

“To be able to get in on the miniature side, which in this day and age of computer effects is not something that’s really done as much anymore, was a lot of fun,” says Newburn, whose credits include “The Mummy,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception.” “If I could spend the next 10 years doing projects like this with the miniature work featured so prominently, it would be a nice 10 years.”

Miniatures are seen throughout “Hereditary” because the film’s main character, Annie Graham (Toni Collette), specializes

in that art form, drawing inspiration from her family’s everyday life, which takes a dark turn after her mother dies. “The miniatures tell...

Based on purely anecdotal evidence, I’m predicting that one of the more recurrent arguments among film enthusiasts for summer 2018 will be, “Does the ending of ‘Hereditary’ work?”

Less likely to cause disagreement will be the idea that “Hereditary” marks a jaw-droppingly impressive feature debut for writer-director Ari Aster. He’s clearly learned from the greats while still making a film that doesn’t entirely look, feel or sound like anyone else’s. With nary a jump scare in sight, Aster has created a moody piece with a delicate but devastating sense of dread.

This is the kind of film best enjoyed with as little foreknowledge as possible, so I’ll keep to the outskirts of the plot: Annie (Toni Collette) has had a longstanding messy relationship with her mother, who has just died. This quotidian tragedy gives way to a deeper one involving her children, high-schooler Peter (Alex Wolff) and tween Charlie.

Living and breathing right alongside the hair-raising scares in Ari Aster's Hereditary is an intriguing set of characters, including the Graham household itself. Built specifically for Aster's film, the Graham home's layout and lighting make the horrors of Hereditary all the more immersive, and to celebrate the movie's June 8th release from A24, Daily Dead spoke with production designer Grace Yun about the film's visual influences, collaborating creatively with Aster, and the home's integral role in the movie's unsettling story.

(Director) Ari Aster spent years developing Hereditary before it ever got the green light, and he put together an incredible creative team to bring his vision to life. What was your first introduction to Ari Aster and Hereditary?

Grace Yun: I got the script from my agent and obviously loved it. I loved the Greek tragedy dynamic feeling of it in the beginning, and then how it just really went into full-gear horror.

Evil has taken root in the residence of the Graham family in Hereditary, the stunning feature film directorial debut from Ari Aster that’s one-half supernatural spook show, one-half psychological horror, one hundred percent an exercise in nerve-shredding terror. Anchored by incredible performances from Toni Collette (who is working on a level here that is simply beyond any of us mere mortals), Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, and Milly Shapiro, Hereditary is an intimately crafted domestic nightmare in which family ties are wound so tightly, the results are a violently unexpected descent into literal madness and blood-soaked mayhem.

At the start of Hereditary, the Graham family is bidding Annie’s (Collette) mother farewell after she passes away, but not everyone is grieving her death. Odd duck Charlie (Shapiro) misses her grandmother deeply (their unique bond is hinted at later on in the film, and man, is it ever disturbing), but the...