So, I’ve decided to ditch my usual movie post intro that includes the movie details, my rating, blah blah blah…I found that I get so lazy to go back and copy it from my older drafts that I’ve been putting off writing these posts! (I still got an entire unpublished review of ‘X’ to get up here…)
It’s crazy, too, because I was originally going to do this whole structured post with highlighted sections, and scene discussions, and images, but then I was like, “Huh…I don’t think the structured life is for me.” This isn’t my job, this blog is for FUN! (Although I still might do the screenshots…)
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so I finally got around to watching Hereditary (2018) tonight. I didn’t really play on watching it, but since I’d have my hands in my hair for the foreseeable next few hours, I figured I’d pop something in that I had collecting dust on my watchlist forever.
Thus, Hereditary was chosen! It was my first thought, actually. I don’t know why, but I’ve been in the mood to get scared lately. It was an urge enough that made me bust out my Steam catalogue and consider booting up Outlast (not that I actually did; I ended up playing The Stanley Parable and an actual horror indie title), but it’s an itch I’ve been looking to scratch lately. And I’ve heard many-a-great thing about Hereditary: it’s distressing, it’s unnerving, it’s disturbing- – and ah, sounds just perfect for me!
So I sat down in my dorm’s living room at ten at night, turned my headphones up real (tolerably) loud, and settled in the dark for the perfect horror movie watching atmosphere, nothing less than what such a glorious film deserves.
And you know: it actually was! I was really worried my expectations would’ve made me overhyped and disappointed in the final product, but I think it ended up working because the film summary is drastically different than what you get.
Actually, that’s really- and only- my one complaint with the film: I actually expected the revelation with the grandmother and her occult status to be something that gradually unfolds throughout the film. It comes up for 20-30 minutes at the start of the film, and 30 minutes at the end. The inside of the movie, all that middle part, is just blank. Other than Joan, the lady Annie meets at the grief counseling group session, you don’t really hear much of anything involving the mystery until the very end, which strangely works for this film. But I think some of that middle run-time should’ve been used on exploring something!
It was also weird that I felt distressed from this film in a third-person perspective sort of way. Honestly, I think Hereditary confirmed my fear that I’ve been desensitized to horror as a whole, which is a little sad, but the appreciation of it is still there.
There’s a lot of admiration for the story and the dedication it had to distressing the hell out of the audience. I love that it tried to make every aspect of this film as disturbing as possible. Everything from the tongue clicking, to the sleepwalking sequences, to the actual gory deaths. Props on the team, I loved it! I made me wish I could still feel scared to really appreciate it!
Plus, it gives a lot of time for that feeling to build, too. Hereditary is slow-burn central, so I would not recommend this for anyone who wants everything to happen now! Often I would accidentally move my mouse and be surprised that there was still so much runtime left to the film, but I’ll leave you to figure out whether that’s good or bad.
It was also lots of fun to dissect this movie as it was playing out in real-time. I think I responded positively to the subconscious foreshadowing at the start of the film, because I guessed pretty early on that the son or the mother were probably gonna be the last ones standing (specifically the son, since you can’t pass on a bloodline if all the fucking kids die!).
Speaking of kids dying, I was actually SO surprised the daughter died so early on? Legitimately don’t know what I was expecting there, LOL. I’d heard about the film lifting the real life death involving those two friends, but never really knew the context behind it, or even when it would happen. I’d known about the case already, so I didn’t get the same impact first-time audience members would’ve had watching this film, darn.
The scene leading up to it was interesting, though. Charlie wearing that dingy ass orange hoodie everywhere was hilarious, I know it probably smelled awful. The weed pick-up line Peter used on that girl had me cringing in shame in my seat, even more so when it worked.
And Peter (who didn’t look like his name should be Peter), surprisingly, wasn’t as much of a dick as he could’ve been to her. I thought it was quite sweet that he carried Charlie to the car as she was having that allergic reaction.
Speaking of which…why the fuck didn’t the parents have her carry that Epi-pen around?? Isn’t that the point of the pen?! Don’t keep it locked in a dresser at home! It’s not for decoration! That accident in the car could’ve all been avoided if you guys gave her a little purse or something, I don’t know.
And I felt really bad for Peter, because the moment that accident happened I knew we were gonna have some Michael Afton levels of coping, especially once that dinner table scene arrived.
Honestly, the moment the forks and knives started scrapping against the plates, I knew it’d be some tension incoming. And tense it was. You could tell Annie was going to pop off from a mile away, especially after that scoff, and holy shit, did she! She made it clear that she hated her son for the way he didn’t take any responsibility or apologize for the way he way he ended up killing Charlie…which is a little rich from her, because earlier she tried to excuse herself from nearly setting her kids on fire because she was sleepwalking. Looks like it runs in the family, right?
Speaking of which, all the occult stuff was…something else! My initial thought, when Charlie said her grandma wanted her to be a boy, made me think that she wanted Charlie to be a boy so the curse didn’t get passed down…but that’s back when I thought granny was a victim, not a perpetrator! Honestly, I think that’s why the cult shit took me so off-guard: with the way the summary framed it, it sounded like the grandmother was trying to get away from it! Or maybe that was just my little pea brain filling in the gaps…
I also started thinking that the “curse” picked off loved ones surrounding the person until it moved down in the host line. We saw at the beginning there was the obituary (which, was a pretty dope way to open a film. May have to steal that at some time), and again when Annie was describing the deaths of her father and brother. It legitimately made me think whatever demon it was that followed them hated Y chromosomes with a passion and picked them off steadily until the next lady in the family got passed the curse baton. Needless to say, I was off the fuckin’ mark!
Say it with me, everyone: STOP MESSING WITH SPIRITS AND SHIT. I felt UBER bad for the dad and Peter after Annie woke them up that night to do that séance shit. Which is insane because, not even a scene ago, you were freaking the hell out too! And now you got your husband and son doing it?? Had ole boy sobbing into his dad’s chest like a child. And understandably so! Inviting all kinds of spirits and shit into this household…now everyone’s dead! Are you happy yet?!
Joan as a whole was interesting. Once they mentioned the doormats I guessed pretty quickly that she knew the mom. Her introduction was hilarious, though. I feel bad for laughing when she said point-blank, “My son died.” Like WOWIE woman! And now I’m wondering if Joan made that thing about her son and grandson the hell up?! She probably did. I’m gonna have to go back and rewatch the counseling scene to see if she’s there.
Another thing: how the hell did they mispronounce the name of Paimon? Where the fuck did the ‘y’ come from, anyway? Admittedly, I only knew the correct pronunciation thanks to its inclusion in Amanda the Adventurer, but you think someone on set would’ve like, I don’t know, gone to search it up to make sure they’re doing things right? Although I understand it, to some degree. You do or say something for so long that you don’t even doubt it’s the right way…
I do love the sleepwalking scene, though. Especially with the double inversion of it being a dream. That was pretty fucked that she told her kid she didn’t want him- for that, I was exponentially more thankful it was a dream! And the fact that they were suddenly covered in paint thinner at the end made it SO much cooler (er, warmer, if someone happens to strike a match).
Speaking of burning, I love how the dad was just…there. Honestly, before he got blazed to the high heavens himself, I felt really bad for the chap, because he didn’t really play a super huge role in the film. Which, it’s understandable. This is about the maternal side of the family and her offspring, but buddy was really just paper on the wall.
I also kept forgetting they had a dog?? He just kind of popped in here and there that he was gone for juuuuust long enough to make me forget he existed, LOL.
And then there’s Peter. I was actually surprised he got as much screen time as he did! He was someone else I felt really bad for. You know no amount of therapy in the world would ever get him right even if he did survive. And you know his behavior after his sister’s crash probably got him outcast to hell, as evidenced by him sitting alone at lunch before Crazy Joan starts yelling at him from across the road.
Honestly, after that outburst he had in class, it’s probably for the best his body got hijacked by Paimon or whatever the fuck. The contortions and the bones cracking like that, by the way? Sick as hell. I loved that scene. After the first head bang, though, kid’s reputation was in the trash. I felt really bad for him once he started screaming and crying, though. You know he was scared shitless over what was happening, and worse yet, there’s really nothing more he could’ve done.
And then it just gets worse for him. He basically becomes the last guy standing after a full movie of being traumatized by inadvertently causing his sister’s death and then figuring out a demon’s after his family. I felt super bad for him once he started crying in the attic for his mom. I didn’t blame him at all for taking a running-dive out that window.
I love how the film started and ended on a diorama, from Peter’s bedroom to the shot in the treehouse. It also had no business ending with that cheery ass music lol.
Now, as far as the overall movie goes, I liked it! Movie got exponentially more fucked as it continued, which I liked. The cinematography and lighting were really cool, made me take nothing but screenshots throughout the course of the film. I might even litter some of them throughout this post, just to break up the monotony of words a bit. (Plus, I mean, they were pretty cool. Who doesn’t want to see cool frames?)
Even the soundtrack was a treat, but the constant “house party” beat for that specific one left me so fucking confused. I live on a college campus; I thought my neighbors were having a part or some shit, LOL.
God also bless my school for giving us Kanopy for free, which basically has A24’s entire catalogue, so I’ll be checking some of their other stuff out, just because I can.
Honestly, I can definitely see this being one of those films that I start to like the more it settles in LOL. And really, I did really enjoy it! I was worried my own critical nature and over-expectations were going to get in the way of the film, but I really, really enjoyed it. I think, after a few hours of letting it sit, it’s really sinking in now.
And, like, did you hear? Apparently A24 plans on bringing this and some of their other films back to theaters soon which, eek! I HAVE to watch this on the big screen! I would kill for that. I bet the experience is unlike any other! Here’s hoping it releases to a theater near me when they do their campaign!
Also, have you ever seen a film where two of the lead actors have the same birthday? Apparently I get the bragging rights of sharing a birthday with Alex Wolff AND Toni Collette. Top that!
Okay, well, that’s it for today! Without a doubt, I definitely loved and appreciated this film a lot. We’ll see if it becomes a favorite— I think on a rewatch, it maybe will- but for now, I truly enjoyed what Hereditary had to offer! I’m definitely going to analyze the shit out of this and read the script for LOL.
If you want some of my raw reactions, I have a Twitter thread for it, as I always do.
I wish I hadn’t forced myself to not give commentary for the first 40 minutes of the film! I’m a chatterbox at heart.
I’ll most likely come back to trim this down, shift some things around, and add a few more notes tomorrow morning. Until then, bye bye! Onto some more movies to watch, and drafts to post!