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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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Roger Ebert's review

Rating not yet verified
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:18Read transcript
  • Ebert had died before the film; there is no actual review or score.
  • A hypothetical three-and-a-half-star reaction is guessed for Ebert and a hostile Siskel reaction imagined; these are not genuine critic ratings.
  • A ChatGPT-generated imagined Ebert response is read aloud; it is explicitly a simulation rather than a real review.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Budget and gross; CinemaScore; Aster’s preparation; production and score

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:23Read transcript
  • Aster reportedly prepared a seventy-five-page shot list for his feature debut; his meticulous technique, shorts and personal sensibility are praised.
  • The film reportedly cost $10 million and made $87.8 million, becoming A24’s highest grosser until Everything Everywhere All at Once.
  • The reported D-plus CinemaScore is discussed as a mismatch between marketing expectations and experience, with skepticism about horror scores generally.
  • An Australian family-screening mistake is reported as the whole film rather than merely its trailer; this remains the episode’s claim rather than an independently verified event.
  • Aster reportedly fought an unnamed financier over the final cut and wrote detailed biographies for every character.
  • Stetson reportedly drew score inspiration from water and animal sounds heard while walking in darkness.
  • One friend smoking with Peter is said to appear later among the cult, supporting the interpretation that its influence surrounds the family.

Casting What-Ifs

No firm alternatives; core cast attached early

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:54Read transcript
  • No firm alternate casting is known; Collette, Byrne and Shapiro were reportedly attached early, with Shapiro’s stage accomplishments noted.

Recasting Couch

Lucas Hedges as Peter

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:49Read transcript
  • Lucas Hedges as Peter is proposed given his recent Manchester by the Sea and Lady Bird work.

What Would Tony Romo’s Director’s Commentary for This Movie Sound Like?

Doris Burke; Collinsworth; Ruocco; Breen; Cowherd

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:13Read transcript
  • Doris commentary addresses Miss Joni after decades preparing for King Paimon, removing Charlie and destroying the Graham family so he can take male form.
  • Collinsworth cautions against sticking a head outside a moving car; Ruocco’s Got It and Breen’s Bang are applied to the decapitation.
  • Cowherd-style analysis treats Paimon as the dominant executive who knows the salary cap.

Really Fun Deleted Scenes

Peter finds Annie asleep in the treehouse

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:44Read transcript
  • A deleted scene has Peter enter Charlie’s treehouse to sleep and discover Annie already there, increasing his fear of her.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Allergy or possession; cult’s timing; demon hierarchy; Paimon’s powers

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:23Read transcript
  • Whether Charlie’s crisis is an ordinary allergy or Paimon directing events is debated; the marked pole and possible cult placement of the deer imply orchestrated fate.
  • Whether the family already has wealth from the grandmother’s pact is wondered about, leading to jokes about Paimon supplying investment and betting tips.
  • Whether Paimon returns to school or ever inhabited Annie during intimacy is debated; one reading limits her possession to the period after Steve’s death, another points to roaming blue light.
  • The wisdom of séances and the eight kings’ hierarchy, territories, collaboration and place beneath Satan are left unanswered amid organizational jokes.
  • A possible omitted cult-sex scene is wondered about, with Midsommar offered as where Aster later explored that material.
  • Why the cult waited so long to transfer Paimon from Charlie to Peter is unanswered, with maturity offered as a guess.

Picking Nits

Uncontrolled weed; unknown Joan; family choices; bedroom locks; police absence

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:47Read transcript
  • Peter’s heavy marijuana use seems unchecked and may cloud his judgment; whether the cult influences it or he supplies friends is speculative.
  • Annie failing to recognize her mother’s close friend Joan seems unlikely, though estrangement and secrecy offer an explanation.
  • Steve marrying and remaining with Annie despite extreme family history and alarming behavior is questioned; attraction and her artistic success are offered as comic explanations.
  • Sending thirteen-year-old Charlie to Peter’s high-school gathering seems questionable, with wanting children out of the house or supernatural influence offered as possibilities.
  • Peter should have multiple bedroom locks after the paint-thinner incident, prompting a mock home-improvement advertisement.
  • The apparent absence of police questioning, investigation and public reporting after a child’s violent death is questioned, especially given Peter’s intoxication and return to school.

Producer review

Intolerably horrifying; rejects this kind of horror

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:28:05Read transcript
  • The invited first-time response finds the film intolerably horrifying, rejects the claim that it is funny and says films this disturbing should not be made; the reaction is explicitly personal taste.