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Hereditary poster

Hereditary

year 2018decade 10sdirector Ari Aster
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Hereditary | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennesseyproducer Craig Horlbeck theme Scary Month
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The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Negotiate with Paimon; cultist nudity; hell as a blank slate; dark comedy

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:38Read transcript
  • Hereditary is read as absurdly comic fatalism: attempts to understand or repair the family cannot prevent inherited doom.
  • Take a meeting with Paimon and negotiate for wealth and insight rather than let the family be decapitated.
  • The cultists’ rejection of clothes and shame has appeal; whether naked smiling people are scarier than dangerous animals is debated.
  • Hell-based horror is called easy to invent because its rules are unconstrained; the defense is that Aster researched actual demon lore.

Just One Oscar

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:35Read transcript
  • Collette’s lack of a nomination is criticized, with McCarthy’s nominated performance a possible replacement; her sudden maternal confession and frazzled confidence are singled out.
  • Collette is the agreed Oscar choice.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Final stretch after Steve burns; Charlie’s telephone-pole death

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:15Read transcript
  • Annie’s support-group family history is nominated, with the distant elevated camera slowly approaching her face as inherited catastrophe unfolds.
  • The party setup is examined: bringing Charlie strains plausibility, while the classroom’s fate discussion and the nut-filled cake suggest predestination.
  • Charlie’s decapitation is startling and effective, helped by a trailer that misleadingly positioned her as central without revealing the death.
  • Peter’s shutdown and silent return home are disturbing; holding on his face while Annie screams is praised, while shock is offered as a defense of his behavior.
  • The head with ants, Charlie cutting the bird’s head off and the designs on the telephone pole match other clues noticed on later viewings.
  • Annie’s second meeting with Joan is nominated, with a brief tangent about Dowd’s college.
  • The paint-thinner story and Annie calling her accident miniature a neutral view combine painful family history with absurd dark humor.
  • The dinner confrontation is nominated for Collette’s furious maternal speech, compared jokingly with a dysfunctional-family SNL sketch.
  • The family séance is nominated and considered an obviously dangerous decision, especially the insistence that everyone attend and recite unknown words.
  • Annie deciphering albums and books, Peter’s classroom breakdown, showing Steve the attic and Steve burning are further candidates.
  • The preferred final stretch begins with Steve burning and Peter discovering his father’s body and his mother on the ceiling; the transfer logic and piano-wire death are discussed.
  • A second choice supports the ending after Steve burns, while another explicitly chooses the telephone-pole death.

What’s Aged the Best?

House; insects; repeat-viewing clues; score; Dowd; classroom homage

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:20Read transcript
  • The secluded Utah house, treehouse, driveway and Annie’s work area are praised as ideal horror real estate and an appealing place to live.
  • Ants and flies remain effective horror devices, with personal aversions to insects and rodents compared.
  • Repeated viewing exposes funeral cult members, the grandmother’s wishes, the bird, pole and card clues; comparison with The Sixth Sense’s twist-driven appeal is disputed.
  • The film caps a formative A24 run that introduced filmmakers and lasting audience favorites.
  • The unsettling score’s creaks and sounds create dread without functioning as ordinary listening music.
  • Peter’s head-slamming is effective sudden self-injury horror, though later films copying the device can also make it feel overused.
  • Dowd’s run through this film, The Leftovers and The Handmaid’s Tale is praised as a dark trio, with a college-dorm tangent.
  • The classroom staging is admired as a Halloween homage, including the window placement.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Opening miniature-to-room push; Steve burning

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:10Read transcript
  • The opening push from the miniature into a real room is the principal Great Shot choice, emphasizing the deliberately constructed sets.
  • Steve burning is another shot choice, followed by a Mike Breen-style call.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

Underdeveloped friends; difficult first-viewing comprehension

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:15Read transcript
  • Peter’s friends and prospective girlfriend could be better developed, especially their apparent lack of reaction to his sister’s death.
  • The complicated first viewing is a qualified weakness, with repeat viewings needed to connect details even if the final possession is clear.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Clicking sound; method behavior; copied head-smashing; elevated-horror label

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:31Read transcript
  • Charlie’s clicking sound remains disturbing, especially when a spouse imitates it and when it appears beside Peter in class.
  • Wolff’s performance is defended, but reportedly demanding to be called Peter until the last shooting day is criticized as inconsiderate method acting.
  • Collette’s reported comments describe Wolff as difficult and uncollaborative while praising the result; a Jeremy Strong tangent illustrates the same issue without dismissing Wolff’s career.
  • Sudden head-smashing has become overused in later horror, and the elevated-horror label is criticized as pretentious.

Apex Mountain

Decapitations; Alex Wolff; self-beheading with piano wire; coffee before reporting a charred father (joke)

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:53Read transcript
  • A24 loses to Everything Everywhere All at Once.
  • Collette receives initial affirmative support but is disputed in favor of Little Miss Sunshine’s career impact, with her sustained work and Knives Out noted.
  • Nut allergies and fatal child reactions are proposed; Charlie’s death is compared with the child in Jaws and another child’s fatal bee reaction.
  • Decapitation scenes are accepted over examples from Ran and Black Rain; the pole death and audible piano-wire death compete as highlights.
  • Wolff is accepted; Byrne is rejected for his 1990s work, including The Usual Suspects and Miller’s Crossing.
  • Evil treehouses are proposed as an especially strong case.
  • The Good Son and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice supply treehouse alternatives; self-beheading with piano wire is accepted, while séances and Utah are rejected or unclear.
  • Making coffee after discovering a charred father before calling police is jokingly affirmed.

Cruise or Hanks?

Hanks as Steve

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:17Read transcript
  • Hanks as Steve wins over young All the Right Moves-era Cruise as Peter, with an invited tiebreak response supporting Hanks.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Prestige series; Paimon’s reign; Pazuzu crossover joke

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:38Read transcript
  • A prestige-series version is considered, but a sequel following Paimon’s reign inside Peter is particularly appealing despite lacking an obvious opposing family member.
  • A joking crossover would pit Paimon against The Exorcist’s Pazuzu.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Nothing; nose padding, miniatures, chalkboard and pole alternatives

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:25:25Read transcript
  • One response refuses every object; alternatives include Peter’s nose padding, miniatures, Joan’s chalkboard and the telephone pole as a Halloween decoration.

The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson

Carry EpiPen; leave danger; build a patient community

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:03Read transcript
  • Carry an EpiPen, leave after a parent’s dangerous incident and build a strong community; the cult’s patience and coordinated execution supply the cynical community example.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:25Read transcript
  • Aster receives two explicit winner choices and a subsequent agreement; A24 is floated but considered already established, while Collette earns a shout-out.
  • The film’s success is credited with financing Aster’s subsequent unusual projects, particularly Beau Is Afraid.
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Ari Aster
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Ari Aster
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Ari Aster