OldBoy

i thought this and The Witch were particularly good and very unsettling. i loved Hereditary throughout and was simply enthralled...

Norm de Plume

I liked this film - but didn't love it - when I watched it a few months ago, but Collette was sensational and should have at least been nominated for an Oscar.

DaveyJoe

Yeah, it's a shame Collette didn't get more love from award shows, her performance was excellent.

inri222

Decker

I'd take her any day of the week over the Mexican maid in Roma.

dex14

Yes.

Koby

The movie was just "okay" to me. Not something I'd ever personally re-watch tbh.

Rival11

So a few months back I watched a lot of "explanation" videos on this flick because I ran into something that I just couldn't figure out: Why did Joan call Peter "Charlie" at the end of the flick??? This is driving me nuts and I can't find anything online about it.

Also, from a lot of the analysis (kind of goofy to use that term but oh well) videos I've watched, I am now also convinced that makes the film even more creepy.

RichC2

Yeah, the Charlie thing seemed like it was there for the audience to confirm the spirits had changed body, but I think it they should have said Paimon, not Charlie. I mean, you could argue that Charlie was born the human form of Paimon who wanted to transfer to a Male's body, but it'd still ultimately be Paimon that was jumping vessels. Unless Charlie was the one that could contain him, and together they jumped, but that seems needlessly convoluted.

But then, I found that entire final scene to be the low point for the movie, the dialog there is needlessly expository and clunky.

Rival11

I didn't mind it too much - I just loved how you could tell he basically didn't want to be human form.

Giantrobo

How so?

Rival11

I ran into a ton of theory's on why the demon just didn't want to be around - NME has an article that explains why Charlie was distant and depressed because Paimon didn't ask to be resurrected - also, when Peter becomes the vessel at the end, it's obvious the demon is scared again as well.

There is even an article out there where Aster himself hints a this but I'm having trouble finding it.

I find it all very interesting because the first questions I had when the credits rolled were why was Charlie so comatose looking all the time and why was Peter scared at the end (Joan calming him as well).

Giantrobo

Interesting. Not sure I buy that, but it's interesting.

Mr. Flix

Honestly, I'll entertain any theory that might help redeem this movie. Aside from Collette's incredible performance, I found little to like about this movie.

Abob Teff

Troy Stiffler

This was a very miserable horror movie.

In Adrian Lyne's commentary for Jacob's Ladder, he said that they had to give Jacob little glimmers of hope in order for the audience to stay connected. Hereditary shows us what happens when when you make a move in-and-out miserable and depressing. If feels suffocating.

Not that it's unacceptable. Every film has its own personality and feelings. But it's fair to say this is one of the most miserable movies I ever experienced.

Decker

Wow, I'm surprised at this late backlash. I'm not a horror fan -- hate gory stuff and loathe torture-porn. But I do like "elevated horror" stuff (Halloween, Exorcist, Alien, Silence of the Lambs, American Psycho) and while I was uncomfortable in parts, I really liked this film and thought it worked pretty well. And I was PISSED that Collette didn't get an Oscar nomination. She totally deserved one

TomOpus

It seems to be a pattern around here. Initial praise to be followed later by dislike. Maybe expectations were too high based on what they read.

And I agree about Toni.

RichC2

Yeah, it usually goes initial praise, latent hate, then levels off as time goes on.

I dug most of this movie a lot, didn't think it was miserable or irredeemable at all, but I mean, Requiem for a Dream is one of my favorite movies too so I don't know what that says about me.

I didn't know much going in though which probably helped a lot, and enjoyed having the plot surprise me in a few spots (until it settled into a rhythm later on).

Mr. Flix

If you read this thread from the beginning, the reactions have been fairly split from the get-go. A lot of people (me included) never liked it.

inri222

Mark Kermode nails it for me.

Decker

Rival11

True, funny though with this one, I didn't really care for it the first time through (I gave it my full attention) but now it really gets to me.

Rob V

Interesting theory but you have to wonder then, what was the point of the movie? Why was the cult so invested in resurrecting Paimon into human form?

I also noticed that Paimon would have riches beyond belief, I wondered what that was all about (mother's letter mentioned it and the illustration in the book showed it).

RichC2

For what you mentioned in the second line.