Ok, I just saw Hereditary and WOW...

[Antrax]

It was pretty good as a drama. Not scary at all though.

The thing it forgot to do was prime the audience about what the threat was, so to speak. Just making tense music and doing tight shots isn't enough. I never knew whether the dolls were gonna do stuff, or Toni, or ghosts, or some psycho, or etc.... The Witch nailed this. You knew about the witch and the abusive dad. So every scene can have that tension. But in Hereditary, I just stopped feeling tense after like 30 minutes since the tension never got a "source" of any kind.

Great acting though. I kinda wish it was just a drama.

 

[ethanradd]

Awful movie, just terrible, some amazing acting moments doesn't save this dumpster fire.

 

[napk1ns]

My main problem with the film is my own preconception going into it that the dollhouses would have anything at all to do with it. Ultimately I found the movie really well done but incredibly disappointing that this element I was intrigued by from the trailers ultimately felt like a complete vestigial limb for set dressing and little else.

Click to shrink...

Character who feels her life it's at the mercy of fate creates miniatures of her own home so she might minimize her problems and have agency over the anguish headed her way. Not to be a film douche, but is any subtext seriously that dead on mass audiences? Interpret a little, people!

 

[Big Powder]

I absolutely loved it when I caught it in the theater, and I plan to see it again in the next few days as preparation for Midsommar. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best horror film in decades. I still have lots to see, admittedly, but the only horror movie I can name that I enjoyed more was The Shining. It really is the full package: incredible performances, a very carefully put together plot with a ton of attention to detail, and great use of various cinematic technique to create an unnerving sense of dread and anxiety filling every second so much so that I think that's why the film comes off as such a grueling slog for some. It is not a pleasant experience, by design. And don't even get me started on the amazing finale... I think for many it was just not the film they went in expecting to watch, and I urge those who didn't enjoy it to give it another shot now so that you can have your palette prepared for what it has to offer. Extremely stoked to see what Ari Aster has in store for us next.

 

[McPaul]

It's one of my favorite horror movies.

 

[TitanicFall]

Between this and Paranormal Activity, I regularly check my attic for things that shouldn't be there.

 

[Deleted member 13328]

Just watched it with my wife.

Goddamn that was a good movie.

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It really is. One of the most tense movies I've seen. And Toni should have won an Oscar.

 

[TheIlliterati]

Character who feels her life it's at the mercy of fate creates miniatures of her own home so she might minimize her problems and have agency over the anguish headed her way. Not to be a film douche, but is any subtext seriously that dead on mass audiences? Interpret a little, people!

Click to shrink...

Damn it, I addressed this many times in the thread. I need to go back and edit my original post as people keep replying to it. I get the point of the subtext. I merely had expectations the dollhouses were going to be the point of the film, not the subtext.

 

[scarlet]

The fact that Toni Collette didn't get an Oscar nomination for this is still haunting me.

 

[carlosrox]

I will say my 3 nitpicks with this movie are:

- the cult pulling the strings I'm down with, but how do they plan the exact moment the girl would stick her head out of the window to get decapped?

- the part where she's cutting off her own head looks (intentionally?) goofy, I think they could have made that look less comedic?

- same as above, I found the son jumping out the window came off as a bit goofy looking

Pretty much everything else is gravy.

 

[Lyon]

Ok, I just saw Hereditary and WOW... that was disappointing, movie went downhill hard not long after the sister died. The direction made them seem like bad actors. The demonic story felt forced in; it's as if the intention was to go with mental illness of the son or mom being the reason for the goings on but they decided to lean hard into the supernatural and have mental illness be the red herring.
It also doesn't help that I don't really find things creepy, disturbing, etc. So movies that rely on that to prop them up tend to disappoint me. I can enjoy horror , but trying to creep me out as a viewer isn't good enough.

 

[HotHamBoy]

MIDSOMMER is amazing.

Ok, I just saw Hereditary and WOW... that was disappointing, movie went downhill hard not long after the sister died. The direction made them seem like bad actors. The demonic story felt forced in; it's as if the intention was to go with mental illness of the son or mom being the reason for the goings on but they decided to lean hard into the supernatural and have mental illness be the red herring.
It also doesn't help that I don't really find things creepy, disturbing, etc. So movies that rely on that to prop them up tend to disappoint me. I can enjoy horror , but trying to creep me out as a viewer isn't good enough.

Click to shrink...

Are you just looking for jump scares....?

Aka startlings

 

[Lyon]

MIDSOMMER is amazing.


Are you just looking for jump scares....?

Aka startlings

Click to shrink...

I'm interested in seeing Midsommer, albeit not excited. I actually need to get around to watching Veronica and Raw as well.

Nope, I don't mind jump scares (they don't work on me) but I don't go seeking them out; like everything else they can't be the only thing a movie has going for it.
When I think about it, maybe gore does it more often for me in horror since I can appreciate such things happening to my person.

Horror/Slasher/Whatever films I've enjoyed more than Hereditary in no order:
Martyrs
A L'interieur
Frontier(s)
The Wailing
Haute Tension
A Serbian Film
Livid
The Descent
Rec
Night of the Living Dead
Audition
Eden Lake
Evil Dead
Saw
Drag Me To Hell
It Follows
Paranormal Activity
You're Next
Us
Poltergeist
The Conjuring
Mother

I really need to watch these again to see where I land:
The Babadook
Cabin Fever
Hostel
Ils
Grave Encounters
Insidious
Oculus
The Others

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

It was okay. The sequence where the daughter dies is absolutely wrenching. It becomes less compelling and less scary after the reveal that the cult was orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

 

[carlosrox]

the cult was orchestrating everything behind the scenes.

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I still don't understand how they could have orchestrated everything, most of all the girl getting her block knocked off.

Only explanation I can think of is they could be doing rituals to influence shit around them.

That could work.

 

[The Struggler]

I liked super eye patch wolfs assessment on it much like The Shining the movie is intended to hurt the audience. I liked it but I didnt like the last 1/4 compared to the rest of the movie

 

[Wreck We Em]

The movie is extremely well acted and the tone of the movie is really good but man, that last quarter and especially the ending, killed all the momentum the movie built up....a literal "wait what?" moment for me

The dinner scene where the mom is arguing with her son and the scene where she found out what happened to her daughter are top notch tho

 

[NiallGGlynn]

I'm in the camp of people who really enjoyed it up until the final spookhouse section. That stuff actually relieved me of most of the tension, was chuckling for most of it. Real shame but I'm very excited for Midsommar.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

I still don't understand how they could have orchestrated everything, most of all the girl getting her block knocked off.

Only explanation I can think of is they could be doing rituals to influence shit around them.

That could work.

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I haven't re-watched to confirm, but supposedly there's a rune carved into the telephone pole, which would imply that the cult caused the accident with a ritual or spell or whatever.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I still don't understand how they could have orchestrated everything, most of all the girl getting her block knocked off.

Only explanation I can think of is they could be doing rituals to influence shit around them.

That could work.

Click to shrink...

That's exactly what they were doing. There was a hex mark on the pole.

 

[carlosrox]

That's exactly what they were doing. There was a hex mark on the pole.

Click to shrink...

I remember the mark on the pole. They show it on the way to the party.

But what about stuff they can't control like the brother telling her to eat the cake and stuff?

And it was the mom's idea in the first place for her to go.

I wonder if there actually is more to the dioramas. The movie starts off with that long shot going in to what looks like a diorama but ends up being real.

The cult being in control twist reminds me a lot of the Paranormal Activity movies as well as The Last Exorcism. I love PA 1 and 3, Marked Ones, and Ghost Dimension, while The Last Exorcism is fantastic in my book.

 

[Miracle Ache]

Watched this last night and absolutely loved it. Best dark comedy in a long time.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

If you have a subwoofer crank it up.

Can't imagine watching this on a phone/tablet.

Audio is such a huge part.

 

[Fitts]

Love this movie. Could've done without the visualized soul transfer, though. Feels like something they needed to include because they thought audiences would be too dumb to get it. That's my only complaint.

 

[TAJ]

All I remember about this is thinking it was weird that they highlighted that pole and that someone was not going to be wearing their seatbelt and fly into it. What actually happened was not far off.
And when the kid just drove home like nothing happened I remember reacting exactly like this...

 

[Stiler]

I remember the mark on the pole. They show it on the way to the party.

But what about stuff they can't control like the brother telling her to eat the cake and stuff?

And it was the mom's idea in the first place for her to go.

I wonder if there actually is more to the dioramas. The movie starts off with that long shot going in to what looks like a diorama but ends up being real.

The cult being in control twist reminds me a lot of the Paranormal Activity movies as well as The Last Exorcism. I love PA 1 and 3, Marked Ones, and Ghost Dimension, while The Last Exorcism is fantastic in my book.

Click to shrink...

Remember, Charlie is Paimon, the cult put the mark on the pole, she ate the cake knowing fully well what was going to happen and that it'd led to him having to driving her to try and get help.

 

[EmptyWarren]

Such a mean, ugly, hateful movie. So fuckin good.

 

[Memento]

The fact that Toni Collete didnt get a nomination for Best Actress is fucking disgraceful

 

[devenger]

I've never understood why the mom almost torched the son under some influence when he was supposed to be the vehicle for Paimon. That would have wrecked the whole plan.

 

[carlosrox]

I've never understood why the mom almost torched the son under some influence when he was supposed to be the vehicle for Paimon. That would have wrecked the whole plan.

Click to shrink...

Wasn't that cuz she's not a part of their plan and sensed something wrong with him?

The mom knows about as much as we do apparently about the stuff her mom was into.

 

[Ze_Shoopuf]

I thought there was too much explanation at the end- they should have kept it more mysterious.

It really unnerved me though- I don't think I want to watch it again because Toni's anguish is too raw.
...

Why did the husband catch fire? I never understood that part.

 

[jizzywinks]

I loved the scenery. The funeral scene in particular was beautiful.

 

[Stinkles]

Finally watched it and I always thought Paimon was pronounced differently.


The best thing about the final scene for me was the cramped claustrophobia of the coronation room.

BTW I recommend the movie

Spoiler

Last Shift

which also features a cult devoted to Paimon. I realize this is a dumb use of spoiler but I don't want to ruin the reveals in a movie few have seen.

 

[Elderly Parrot]

We legit thought it was secretly a paranormal activity movie when they started talking about the old ladies and a coven and looking for a male host. It was really well done though

 

[Tansut]

The third act kind of shits the bed and it has an exposition-heavy ending but it's still a hell of an experience that any horror fan should check out.

 

[GymWolf86]

It's fucking great.

 

[Awesome Kev]

It was okay. Just confusing and the ending was plain bizarro. I dont need exactly need a story spoon fed to me but making them overly complicated is just annoying.

 

[Deleted member 41520]

It was okay. Just confusing and the ending was plain bizarro. I dont need exactly need a story spoon fed to me but making them overly complicated is just annoying.

Click to shrink...

I thought there was too much explanation at the end- they should have kept it more mysterious.

It really unnerved me though- I don't think I want to watch it again because Toni's anguish is too raw.
...

Why did the husband catch fire? I never understood that part.

Click to shrink...

The third act kind of shits the bed and it has an exposition-heavy ending but it's still a hell of an experience that any horror fan should check out.

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One of the movie's key themes is "each generation controlling the next". It permeates throughout almost every scene and plot point. (Also why it's called Hereditary.) The really over the top monologue at the end is the ultimate horror enactment of that: not only is the past going to tell you how you're going to live, it's going to dictate to you that you are the next step in pretty much Satan's lineage and you have to run this cult - so go ahead.

It's a movie that holds up insanely well on rewatches. You realise that the whole thing is this meticulously crafted clockwork of theme and symbolism and plot. Stuff in the opening scenes tells you exactly how it's all going to unfold. It's wild.

 

[Awesome Kev]

One of the movie's key themes is "each generation controlling the next". It permeates throughout almost every scene and plot point. (Also why it's called Hereditary.) The really over the top monologue at the end is the ultimate horror enactment of that: not only is the past going to tell you how you're going to live, it's going to dictate to you that you are the next step in pretty much Satan's lineage and you have to run this cult - so go ahead.

Click to shrink...

Thanks I'll have to remember that if I ever give it another go. I just feel like these messages get lost in an attempt to be nuanced.

 

[Musubi]

So I just got finished watching this and boy oh boy was uh that a ride. The creepiest thing to me was how pervasive this cult was through their town they were literally everywhere constantly watching Annie and her family.

Especially like the shot where she finds the pictures in the book and all the subtle groundwork through the entire movie just clicks into place. And even before the demonic shit proper kicks off in the last act just like the tension of the familial drama is just so incredibly uncomfortable. I love horror like this that just doesn't rely on jump scares its the shit that really burrows its way into your psyche.

 

[pixeldreams]

The movie is extremely well acted and the tone of the movie is really good but man, that last quarter and especially the ending, killed all the momentum the movie built up....a literal "wait what?" moment for me

Click to shrink...

Yep, exactly what I took from that movie, was waiting for a really good payoff...

Spoiler: Ending Spoilers

then it was some devil-worshipping cult? What a wet fart of an ending.

 

[TheMan]

I just finished this. I think I kind of limited its impact since I was dicking around with BBW porn at the same time, but I thought the ending

Spoiler

starting with Mom's possession was pretty dope. Seeing Mom cut of her own head in such a mechanical way with that coked out expression was freaky as hell

Good movie.