I wanted to . . . immerse people in this family’s life.

Director Ari Aster

make it into the film was that Annie was also a patient of her therapist husband. It’s not necessary to the events in

but it explains a great deal about the pair’s relationship dynamic.

“She’s not quite comfortable in her role as a mother or a wife,” Aster said of the protagonist. “She’s been pushed into these roles and doesn’t feel like her life is her own.”

Yet, she’s not the villain’s only target. As the title suggests, her whole family is threatened. “The film is ultimately a conspiracy film told from the perspective of the people being conspired against,” Aster said. “Her whole life has been leading to this inevitable end.”

As in other recent family horror movies, like this year’s

or 2016’s the adults in

fear losing a child but feel powerless against people in this family’s life and their dynamic, which is quite complicated.

“I just wanted to make a film in the tradition of the horror films I grew up loving, like

“Films that take their time are very much rooted in character.”

Setting is also vital to the creepiness in

The family’s luxury cabin in the woods has the right dark corners and haunted attics to make it feel like a trap where its inhabitants are left to slowly die.

One of the film’s most striking elements is sound, such as the ominous beats or a clicking tongue.

“It really enhances the film without taking you out of it,” Collette said.

“You notice it, but it’s serving a bigger purpose. It’s so beautiful and weird.”