Horror Hereditary (2018)

[redhawk23]

3/5, it was just fine. Disappointed to be honest. The Witch is still the best horror film of the decade for me. Any new horror movie that looks as clean as this one, doesn't really hit me. Impressed with some of the direction. Some of the acting was good, some was way too over the top and borderline annoying. Yes, i'm talking about both Colette and the son. The third act got a bit silly, the ending didn't do much for me either. I get it, but the execution was more silly than creepy. The only scenes that were creepy were the hallucinations and dreams, and i felt it was a bit forced, trying to gross you us out make us jump. In that regard, it was like a balance of old horror and new school genre tropes that i can't stand.

Nice effort, but really lacking in the substance department. Beyond a basic "grief! am i right!?". Which reminded me of The Babadook. Another horror movie that was hyped as the greatest thing next to The Exorcist. Like i said, The Witch is still at the very top. Every other horror film nowadays seems overhyped.

That has pretty much nothing to do with the movies themselves. People would hate the Exorcist if it came out today with the kind of press that it came out with back then.

Honestly, I respect that the movie, while digging into its themes and performances, still found time to deliver on some James Wan style hijinks.

 

[redhawk23]

Really interesting article on the gender dynamics at play in Hereditary and an analysis of how the horror genre in general has related to transgender ideas over the last several decades.

https://www.them.us/story/transmasculine-horror-stories/amp?__twitter_impression=true

Its actually much more positive than I expected going in.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Finally watched it on DVD last night, have posted my thoughts in the Horror Thread. Really not sure what to make of it, I really liked it but didn't FULLY understand all of it. 8/10.

 

[Boom]

What do you want to know?

 

[Mandon Knight]

What do you want to know?

Taken from my post in the horror thread.....spoilers, so for those who haven't seen it.

Spoiler

Firstly, it didn't go how I thought it would. I didn't fully understand the ending, am I right in thinking that throughout the film we are led to believe a curse has been placed on or by the mother on the family, only for the 'twist' to be that actually the villain of the story is actually Joan who was following the required ritual and became friendly with the family in order to gain access to the son. If that is the reveal, then why that family, who not someone else ? There was nothing to say why Annie's family was 'chosen', other than her mother's 'signing up', why did the mother get signed up ? Her own choice or persuasion ? Appreciate she is seen as 'The Queen' but how was that mantle given ? On that basis, you may as well call the film, Random Selection. I throughout was going the re-incarnation route via each generation's female members of the family.

 

[Boom]

Spoiler

It starts with the grandmother. She is the leader of a cult who worships King Paimon. The cult's objective was to successfully transfer Paimon's spirit into a male host. The grandmother first tried to do this with her son (Ann's brother). In grief counseling, Ann had mentioned how her brother always accused their mother of trying to put people inside of him - which she chalked up to mental illness. Needless to say the grandmother was not successful in putting Paimon into her son, so her next move was trying to put him into her grandson Peter. But Ann's relationship with her mother was so strained that she outright refused to allow her mother anywhere near Peter when he was born. So the grandmother had to bide her time.

Then Charlie was born, and Ann decided to let her mother be more involved in her upbringing. Paimon preferred a male host, so the grandmother put into motion a plan to put Paimon into Charlie for the time being, with the ultimate intention of transferring him into Peter. She was successful in doing so (Charlie's tongue click and her macabre activities were Paimon acting out), but she died before she could oversee the transfer. The photos of her in a white dress with the cult showering her with gold coins was her reward for successfully putting Paimon into Charlie. But again, Peter was the endgame. Paimon needed a male host. That's why the grandmother always told Charlie that she wished she was a boy, and why her door mat said "Charles."

That's where Dowd's character comes in. She was the grandmother's right-hand, and when the grandmother passed away she took over the plan to put Paimon into Peter. Charlie's death, the seance, the grandmother's decapitated corpse in the attic, the incantations written on the walls throughout the house. Everything that happened in the movie was a part of the cult's scheme to get Paimon out of Charlie, and then wear Peter down mentally and physically to make him susceptible to possession from Paimon. And they had some supernatural help along the way. Ann's family was nothing more than an innocent casualty to forces beyond their control.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Spoiler

It starts with the grandmother. She is the leader of a cult who worships King Paimon. The cult's objective was to successfully transfer Paimon's spirit into a male host. The grandmother first tried to do this with her son (Ann's brother). In grief counseling, Ann had mentioned how her brother always accused their mother of trying to put people inside of him - which she chalked up to mental illness. Needless to say the grandmother was not successful in putting Paimon into her son, so her next move was trying to put him into her grandson Peter. But Ann's relationship with her mother was so strained that she outright refused to allow her mother anywhere near Peter when he was born. So the grandmother had to bide her time.

Then Charlie was born, and Ann decided to let her mother be more involved in her upbringing. Paimon preferred a male host, so the grandmother put into motion a plan to put Paimon into Charlie for the time being, with the ultimate intention of transferring him into Peter. She was successful in doing so (Charlie's tongue click and her macabre activities were Paimon acting out), but she died before she could oversee the transfer. The photos of her in a white dress with the cult showering her with gold coins was her reward for successfully putting Paimon into Charlie. But again, Peter was the endgame. Paimon needed a male host. That's why the grandmother always told Charlie that she wished she was a boy, and why her door mat said "Charles."

That's where Dowd's character comes in. She was the grandmother's right-hand, and when the grandmother passed away she took over the plan to put Paimon into Peter. Charlie's death, the seance, the grandmother's decapitated corpse in the attic, the incantations written on the walls throughout the house. Everything that happened in the movie was a part of the cult's scheme to get Paimon out of Charlie, and then wear Peter down mentally and physically to make him susceptible to possession from Paimon. And they had some supernatural help along the way. Ann's family was nothing more than an innocent casualty to forces beyond their control.

Spoiler

Thanks Boom, I got what you explained but it was the 'selection' of Annie's mother in the first place, but your last sentence answers that, Ann's family was nothing more than an innocent casualty to forces beyond their control. Thanks for responding, much appreciated.

 

[Boom]

Spoiler

Thanks Boom, I got what you explained but it was the 'selection' of Annie's mother in the first place, but your last sentence answers that, Ann's family was nothing more than an innocent casualty to forces beyond their control. Thanks for responding, much appreciated.

Spoiler

It wasn't so much than Ann's mother was selected. Somewhere along the line she joined the cult and climbed its ranks. When it came time to put Paimon in a male host, she offered up her family.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Spoiler

It wasn't so much than Ann's mother was selected. Somewhere along the line she joined the cult and climbed its ranks. When it came time to put Paimon in a male host, she offered up her family.

Spoiler

Horrible woman, evil *****.

 

[Boom]

Spoiler

Horrible woman, evil *****.

Right, and that's what's so ****ed up about the film.

I'd encourage watching it again now that things make a bit more sense. You'll pick up on things you didn't before. It's a brilliantly layered film.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Right, and that's what's so ****ed up about the film.

I'd encourage watching it again now that things make a bit more sense. You'll pick up on things you didn't before. It's a brilliantly layered film.

Spoiler

As I say I got all that you presented for me, thanks, but I needed the reason to why the mother/grandmother put her family through all that. That she was into 'that kind of thing'. As I say, it's not where I thought it was going or was going to go the way it need. Will watch it again I'm sure, but let it settle a wee bit first.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I wasn't a fan of this movie. It's well directed and there are some interesting shots, but I found it fairly predictable and unrealistic. The only character I felt sympathy for was Gabriel Byrne, but I could care less for the rest of the family, especially the son. Toni Collette is a fantastic actress, but I thought her performance was so all over the place here.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I wasn't a fan of this movie. It's well directed and there are some interesting shots, but I found it fairly predictable and unrealistic. The only character I felt sympathy for was Gabriel Byrne, but I could care less for the rest of the family, especially the son. Toni Collette is a fantastic actress, but I thought her performance was so all over the place here.

I thought Byrne (who is always solid) was exceptional here in a role that didn't 'allow' him much scope or range, simply a man doing his best to keep the hinges on a very un-hinged structure. Don't agree that Collette was 'all over the place' in her performance, given what was unfolding in front of her, I think she demonstrated that collapse of sanity & control really well.

 

[Elayis]

I thought this was a pretty good movie, but the hype was somewhat overblown. It could never be a classic given how unoriginal and predictable the plot was. Basically every “twist” has been done before, which robbed it of suspense. I knew from the moment Ann Down showed up that she was not who she said she was, and that knowledge lessens much of “surprises” that happen later. Many of the sequences still worked on their own, probably due to the incredible use of sound design and stillness of the camera, but the events themselves were not shocking.

The performances were great all around (to the point where the actress who played Charley may find herself unable to find work outside of horror movies), but something was a little off about his performance. Besides the fact that he looks much too old to be in high school, his character was oddly infantile and immature. It almost crossed into comedy seeing him crying for his mommy, and whining for his dad to make it stop. I also wish Gabriel Byrne’s character had been better developed, there’s not much going on with him. As happens a lot with these sorts of tragedies, I find it difficult to care about people who are so blatantly stupid and unsympathetic. Toni Collette acted her heart out, but there were several times where her hysteria went overboard.

I wish this film had made up its mind on what it wanted to be. If the supernatural elements had been present from the beginning (like The VVitch), then I would’ve been onboard. This is also one of those movies that suffered from revealing way to much in the trailers, which spoiled quite a bit of the film. Some of the wire work towards the end was quite goofy, too.

Overall Hereditary had too much in common with Carrie and Rosemary’s Baby for me to truly enjoy it, as I don’t care for either of those movies. The obvious sterility and controlled artifice of the filmmaking also kept me from getting emotionally involved. The final scene would’ve been much better had it been silent, instead of explaining everything in detail.

 

[chesslover]

No one ever asked Grandma what that symbol meant? GMAFB

 

[the last son]

Wasn't a fan. Reminded of the witch and it comes at night, but this movie was 20 minutes too long and the first hour is such a drag, by 1 hr 1/2 in I was already checked out. I don't need jump scares and really enjoyed the witch and the ritual but this was just boring.

 

[AResistor]

I actually think this might be a strong contender for a Best Original Screenplay nomination. There weren’t many, or it seems like there weren’t many, typical original screenplay films this year since so many typical Oscar films were based on true stories. I think that this film was fresh and it dealt with a heavy subject (family grief and how it impacts everyone) - this movie might have a shot in that category... anyone else think this might get a nomination there? Usually the category is cluttered but since so many were based on true stories, I truly think this one might have a shot.

 

[MadderMaximus]

I think it's a stretch it could get nominated there, but not impossible. The only sure thing I see is Toni Colette, but even that sounds like it might be a crowded category now.

 

[AResistor]

I think it's a stretch it could get nominated there, but not impossible. The only sure thing I see is Toni Colette, but even that sounds like it might be a crowded category now.

It wouldn't be one of my first choices, but - as said - it seems like there was a shortage of potential contenders that were based on original screenplays this year. Like, 95% of the ones I can think of were based on a book or a true story. I'm not even sure if Old Man With A Gun can be considered original.

 

[MadderMaximus]

Lack of options could give it an edge. A Quiet Place could have a better chance due to the more positive audience reaction and box office performance.

Don't give up on the True Story aspect. True Story scripts can count as Original Screenplays depending on the source. Spotlight was counted as an Original Screenplay due to collective research rather than based on any specific book or article.

 

[LvtLeeTDK]

No way A Quiet Place can get a Screenplay nod. It's like Dunkirk, well-directed but the script is incredibly thin and simple.

People compared Hereditary to Get Out and I was so disappointed after watching the movie. Some well done sequences and great atmosphere but the plot just seems nonsense, and the pacing is absolutely dreadful.

 

[AResistor]

No way A Quiet Place can get a Screenplay nod. It's like Dunkirk, well-directed but the script is incredibly thin and simple.

People compared Hereditary to Get Out and I was so disappointed after watching the movie. Some well done sequences and great atmosphere but the plot just seems nonsense, and the pacing is absolutely dreadful.

Hereditary I think could have been better if it didn't include the paranormal angle as much as they did at the end. The best aspect of it was the disquieting family drama, but the ending just felt really out of place - at least to me - for some reason.

I can see Quiet Ones getting sound nods, but not screenplay since it was rather simplistic in that area (but in a way that worked for it). Sound is the aspect that's the most talked about and people have reported it impacting their hearing so much that after the film, their hearing was sharper than ever due to the way the acoustics messed with their auditory perception.

 

[Luigi]

Considering that A24 doesn't have any major winter releases, I would love for them to revamp their awards push for Toni Colette.

 

[Boom]

I have no clue what A24 is doing. Their campaigns for Hawke and Collette have been practically nonexistent.

Hawke still has a chance given how weak Best Actor is looking, but Collette needs a miracle at this point. Best Actress is extremely packed this year and it seems A24 can't be bothered to campaign for her.

 

[LvtLeeTDK]

They should tbh. Collette's scream alone in this movie should get her an Oscar nod.