Saw it yesterday. What struck me as the secret ingredient is its empathy: the horror works because one understands the characters' uphill efforts to stay true to themselves (and sane) amidst the terrible cause and effect. It is also the long overdue showcase of what Toni Collette is capable of: I'd call her performance by itself a work of art.
I hate to be harsh about Grace Randolph because she is passionate about what she does, and that passion is admirable..but I have so many issues with her approach to film criticism. Maggie, on the other hand, is in her own league. She has phenomenal knowledge of older films (50s & 60s) which translates to great context and awareness. Very little film narrative is new and someone else did most of it along time ago. And she reviews films from an artistic expression point of view and could give a care less about box office and mass audience appeal. Grace is obsessed by such things. Grace has a pretty shallow knowledge of older films and I give up on understanding what her focus is for reviewing films. There is no contest between Maggie and Grace. Maggie reinforces intelligent film criticism and she is by far one of the best you tube film critics.
+Kirk Colton Right on, man. Maggie is a rare gem indeed. Grace knows mass-market movie business I guess, but who the fuck wants to listen to that shit? She must have worked in marketing or something, because she approaches everything from the numbers/business angle and gives short shrift to artistic merit or meaning. She pays special attention to mass-market movies to the exclusion of almost everything else, and even worse, she's obsessed with trendy enforced 'diversity' and other bogus SJW crap that really doesn't belong in movies any more than any other propaganda does. Maggie is the best kept secret on RU-vid. I'm sure that if she keeps at it she will become a juggernaut; there are tons of thoughtful RU-vidrs out there producing interesting and intellectually deep content, but she doesn't self-promote or even ask for support from her viewers or have a Patreon page.
While I don’t always agree with Grace on her opinions her reviews and viewpoints on filmmaking do hold merit. Obviously Maggie takes a more nuanced approach and engages with the films on a higher level but Grace often views the films thru the eye of not only the common movie goer but also a business perspective, something that is equally important in the business of film. I appreciate both. Like a yin and yang of film analysis.
Your review of this movie is just spot on. Best review I’ve seen. It’s not a jump scare movie. It’s that emotional bone chilling element that stands out. Loved this review.
I picked up on that as well. Originally it was going to be shot in the snow but they had to change it due to time constraints, and decided to embrace the green "rebirth" look in keeping with the cult. But still very Shining-esque.
Dude, you’re not alone!!! It reminded me so much of The Shining in how scary the hallucinations were and blurring the lines between hallucination and reality. Also the family trauma subtext behind the horror much like how The Shining had the subtext of alcoholism and addiction, abuse and domestic violence.
Hereditary is the scariest horror movie in my opinion. Not for the “horror scenes”, but that dreadful tension between the family members. Its almost unbearable.
Disturbing as this film was at times, it was refreshing to see a so called horror movie that wasn't another cut-and-paste gore fest aimed at teenagers. It's a movie Hitchcock or Kubrick might have made with lots of foreshadowing, symbolism and deeper meaning.
Wonderful review. I thought this was a modern masterpiece. I was elated when I left the theater. Do you ever do Spoiler Discussions? I think you could do that extremely well.
I know, much like with Aster’s next film Midsommar there’s so many little details that foreshadow important plot points and narrative turns that make so much sense on a second viewing!
I have had this hanging around for some time but only just got around to seeing it. I understood the familial context very early on, as it does slap you hard in the face from the get go. I have a family that kind of feels like it is falling apart around me currently, so it certainly resonated. While I did admire the film making and directorial handling here, 'The Witch' and 'Relic' got to me more as far as the unsettling creep factor is concerned. I am not sure I will watch it again any time soon but I would certainly watch this over 'Midsommar', any day!
This may be a huge reach, but part of the way I interpreted her vocation is about control. Yes, she’s moving everything around herself; manipulating the miniatures in the artificial environment as the family encounters tensions and traumas. But they are still just props. I took this as ultimately none of us can control our genetics (Hereditary). So we are all kind of ‘controlled’ in a sense with what cards we are dealt. We can’t choose what family we are born into. We’re all just props. 🙃
My favourite bit is when Peter is in English and they’re talking about Heracles and the Greek Tragedy and debating whether it’s more tragic that the hero saw but ignored the warning signs of their fate or if the hero was completely oblivious to what was going on. Originally Peter was going to gouge his eyes out when he became Paimon as a nod to the tragic Greek hero Oedipus who did so after finding out he inadvertently killed his father and had sex with his mother to become king.
The scene when Peter the brother was in bed the morning after the accident, and you could hear the mother discovering the body in the car... was very similar to The Shining When Danny was having that convulsion hearing his parents arguing... Seeing the future..
A lot of Hereditary actually reminded me of The Shining, more so in the depiction of the frightening hallucinations and nightmares that blurred the lines between what was real or all made up. Similar to The Shining with the disturbing background context of Jack being an alcoholic and sexually abusing Danny, Hereditary also had the really unsettling context surrounding family trauma and grief which made it feel all too real, horror works at its greatest if the story, context and themes still work without the horror elements from what people have said and I have to agree.
I wish more people had your mindset when watching films. I found it even better on multiple viewings, understanding the symbolism, and conversations I ignored on first viewing. I noticed every moment had a reason, the foreshadowing was on point. I feel like some people watched it with a surface level perception, or made up their mind from the beginning that they dont like it. Most hardcore horror fans, would love it. Especially ones who have patience hahha. I loved every moment of this, just pure misery ha that's how horror is meant to be.
I very much liked the movie, as well, but I need to watch it again. Like The Babadook, it seems to get a bullseye as far as setting its tone exactly where it wants it, and I loved that element of it. My main problem with it is Alex Wolff, who does not have the acting chops to pull off that last shot, not to mention much of the rest of the movie, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth about an ending that might have been fine with a better actor. Upon re-watch, I can see whether that sticks with me as much as it did with the first viewing. Thanks for the thoughtful review.
I thought the film was great up until the very last scene in the treehouse. I felt the film worked great the entire time when it was kind of ambiguous as to whether or not the family was going mad or there were supernatural elements at play.
The VERY opening scene with the slow pan across that room with the zoom-in to the house is still my favorite part of the movie. I can’t explain it. It’s just a feeling that sets the unsettling tone for the entire movie.
Yes this movie looks like the movie' Rosemary's baby' but without to much direct meddling from the neighbours. It is like someone is poking needles in a voodoodoll, but we don't see them actually do it in this movie.
Hi i wondered if you could shed light on why there are so many cuts in your reviews? It seems that an edit is done after each sentence/paragraph? Thanks 🙏
What's with the critics? I picked more things in common with this film and Repulsión, Rosemary's baby, Von Tier's Antichrist, Mother! or even Twin Peaks than The Exorcist. The "New Exorcist" they say, they only want their review on front page.
did you not feel that it worked extraordinarily well as a maybe psychological horror story, which then devolved into a hack Rosemary's Baby finale? very talented cast, crew, director, for sure, but ultimately terribly disappointing.
I saw a lot of Kubrick influences in the film. I really like that Ari Aster was taking the horror to a different place. More psychological, the unknown is what was the most terrifying part of the movie, when that became known it felt like an anticlimax. Regardless I think it was the best horror film I have seen in a while, bolstered by the performances of the cast. Toni Collette is incredible.
This not an X-Rated channel. Save those types of movies for when you and your buddies get together on a Saturday night to Smoke Weed and Drink Beer. By the way have you watched the "Rape My Daughter" series, if you have do you feel that the quality has gone down ever since Lil Pepo started directing?
holy ole captain christ, babyjesusmuhlord, this movie just skullfucked me so hard and left me for dead. as long as i live i'll never forget the deeply unsettling imagery and the unfathomably awful and evil emotional violence the characters inflict on each other, as well as themselves. a really beautifully made production to boot. this is the most upsetting film i've seen since The Exorcist 3. it's as good as The Babadook, but me having a deeply fucked up family dynamic with a brother dying of alcoholic liver disease and a mother who enabled his addiction and impending death against all my wisdom and advice every step of the way, the film's themes and utterly warped family dynamics and character decisions resonate with me on a much deeper level. the reaction Hereditary provoked in me is exactly what every film should strive for. i will never be the same.
So I find horror films can be very entertaining but the ones that I find terrifying and the ones that stick in my brain freaking me out at night are films about possessions like The Exorcist. Should I not see this film??
*I was just thinking about that movie not a moment ago, then randomly came across your comment right here!* Maggie certainly doesn't shy away from foreign or political films, or those deemed sexually risqué: and with *"Lust, Caution" being all three, I'd bet it would be a treat for her!* Let's hope she'll read this and follow your lead.
Nice review, even though I didn't love this one. Waiting for your first review of the new year. Oh! Review Death Race 2000!!! The 70's film. Not the faux-grindhouse crap Hollywood keeps churning out. I know you'll never really review this, but my obsession recently has been campy exploitation films like this.
Boogeyman 2005 labeled as "scariest film since the exorcist" yeah that movie was so scary I was laughing my balls off throughout the entirety of the movie
if the movie would have ended with Peter throwing himself out the window it would be an OK movie, but that choice to end it with the ceremony in the tree house ruined it for me; seeing Annie`s decapitated body levitating towards the house and that "ghost" leaving Peters body after his death made me outright angry; to call the ending hilarious and childish is an understatement... all the episode with Charlie`s death also seemed so contrived and relying on such improbable coincidence that it would be hard to believe it could happen: the girl being forced to go to the party, eating the nuts cake, not having her medication on her, Peter chosing to drive her home instead of calling an ambulance etc. For me a very forgettable movie
SO MANY SPOILERS OMG DO NOT READ SO MANY ALL OF THEM PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD UNLESS YOU’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE DONT READ THIS IS NOTHING BUT SPOILERS Peter was the intended host for the demon Paimon from before he was born. During Annie’s nightmare where she walks into Peter’s room and confesses she never wanted to be his mother, she says that her mother wanted her to have him, and even after doing all she could to abort Peter still survived. It was after his birth, or maybe still during her pregnancy that Annie’s husband issued the no contact rule between Annie and her mother. Annie only let her mother into her life when she was pregnant with Charlie, and before Charlie was even born I believe she was possessed, hence when after the grandmother’s funeral Annie tells Charlie that she never cried as a baby, even when she was born. Charlie was always possessed, and I think she at least half way knew it since she creates the same figurines seen in Joan’s apartment, and from the drawings she does in her notebook. Charlie’s handicaps are likely caused by the demon being in an insufficient vessel. I think the bird hitting the window and Charlie cutting off its head triggered something, as I think later that night is when the party happens and she dies. Birds are obviously important to the ritual as there is a caged bird in the treehouse at the end of the movie. Her death is entirely orchestrated, proven by Paimon’s Mark on the telephone pole. And I think that Peter was meant to be the one to cause her death, as I noticed later in one of the books Annie is going through that belonged to her mother, it mentions how Paimon possesses the most vulnerable host (probably why Charlie was easy to possess as a fetus). Peter was traumatized by her death, making him incredibly vulnerable. The entire family was vulnerable after Charlie’s death. Another thing that had to happen before Paimon could transfer bodies was the incantation had to be spoken aloud in the house while all members of the family were present. Earlier in the movie, someone put a flier for the group seance in the Graham’s mail slot, which obviously went ignored, which is why Joan had to show up at hobby lobby (knowing Annie would go there because she is an artist) to trick Annie into saying it in her home. In fact, Annie getting involved with Joan at all is influenced by a spirit or some kind of magic, because Annie only goes to Joan’s apartment after a blue bottle of paint spills and some gets on joan’s note, but the paint spills without Annie touching it, leading me to believe that the grandmother’s spirit knocked it over. I think the grandmother’s spirit haunted the family to manipulate them since her body had been in the attic for quite some time before the end of the movie, and since annie sees an apparition of her mother early on, although it could have been Paimon. The grandmother’s body was covered in a black tar like substance, which I found interesting because when Annie is telling Joan about finding Charlie’s body, she mentions the blood looked like black tar. I watched this movie two nights in a row, and I definitely think it was worth it. Throughout the movie, I noticed the Trend of mental illness: the grandmother supposedly had DID (dissociative identity disorder) Annie’s father died from starving himself during a depressive episode, and her brother committed suicide due to his schizophrenia. I wondered the entire movie if Annie was simply going crazy, but the cult was planning everything long in advance. When going through her grandmother’s things in the beginning of the movie, she finds a note from her mother basically saying she is sorry for Annie’s losses but they will be worth the reward, a sinister note when you realize the grandmother knew everyone in her daughter’s family was going to die. At the end, when Peter is roaming the house looking for his family, when he leaves his room the ladder to the attic is pulled up, however when being chased upstairs by his mother the ladder is now pulled down, leading me to believe he was meant to go upstairs, and he was meant to jump out the window and kill himself, allowing Paimon to control his body. You can even see a shade leaving peter’s body before the light moves over his back and into him. The ritual for possession obviously revolves around decapitation, as the grandmother and Annie are both decapitated, and Charlie’s head is on the statue with a crown, like the crown she drew on the head of the pigeon in her notebook. What I want to know is exactly what Annie’s involvement in all of this is. She says her mother suffered from DID, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder, which leads me to wonder whether Annie suffers from it to. Her sleepwalking story alludes to her having some internal knowledge about what is happening to her family, as she meant to burn all of them alive, and the way her figurines move around. I noticed that in one scene, it’s shown that in her miniature of the accident Charlie’s head is no longer on the road ( because the cult stole it to use for the statue) but did Annie know that, she did move it? Was she the one who put the headless figurine of Peter in his bed? I think Annie is involved in some way, but she is somehow unaware. All in all, I really liked the movie. Oh! And if you listen to what Peter’s teacher is lecturing about in the beginning, before all this goes down, he talks about whether it’s more tragic if the character has a choice or if it’s fate, which ties in to how the audience should feel about the graham family. Is it sadder if you think they had the chance of freeing themselves from the cult and failed, or if they were always doomed? I think they were always doomed, and I think it makes it so much sadder
I have been debating the same thing. Whether Annie was in on it consciously or not. But good point about the beginning, talking about choice and fate. That could be a really good indicator for sure. Again, gotta go back and catch all the little things like that I missed originally.
One thing that I think is really interesting that no one has mentioned: Annie’s husband was a psychologist and was clearly a bit older than her. I have a working theory that they may have met because he was her doctor at one point treating her for DID or some other disorder. It seems like deep down she knew what was happening, but she had repressed a lot of memories related to her mother’s cult activity. She didn’t want anything to do with her mother when she was pregnant with Peter (because she knew her mother would try to make him a host) but she willingly let her attend to Charlie. I also found it interesting that she mentioned how violently opposed she was to becoming Peter’s mother. Perhaps she was raped before she was married and became pregnant? She clearly didn’t have those reservations towards motherhood with Charlie. I need to watch this film again, because I feel like I may be missing lots of subtle nuances.
@@missmarlenajean I think perhaps she was repulsed by carrying Peter because she was conflicted with him being Paimon's future host. She perhaps didn't feel that with Charlie.
Solid occult horror.The characters feel very real and the esoteric elements of the film are well balanced with the dramatic elements Just got back from seeing lamb ,the story about a satyr that never gets told I had to go to back to a decent horror film to recover from that piece of shit.
This movie was directed within an inch of it's LIFE!!! Masterful. But it needed to pick a road. "The Witch" or "Babadook"?!?! Pick one. It tried to have it's cake and eat it too. In the end it fell flat for me. That being said, it's been years since I've almost covered my eyes and been paralyzed by what I'm seeing on the screen... Wish it would have sticked the landing. It didn't for me. But I don't regret seeing it at all.
I had this initial reaction too, it "didnt stick the landing" in my mind when all was said and done. Honestly tho I feel like it's not that it was trying to do both things, its that it was showing you that perhaps it didnt matter the reason behind the death and destruction of their family. Whether it was her hereditary of mental illness being passed on, or a plot to summon forth a demon prince, in the end it all had the same result. The demons in her past, whether metaphorical or not, were destroying her family.
I have been blessed! I am curious about all of them..most specifically the ones in the middle shelf.Say,the yellow(brown?) and black one & the one next to it. P.S.: If possible can you make a list of all your books on say,Amazon or Goodreads & share a link of the same? Otherwise,I will keep annoying you on every video.
Just Don't Wanna Put Anymore Pressure on Ya Here is the torrent ''lots of seeds'' thepiratebay.org/search/Hereditary/0/99/0 >>Pl's be kind and Seed Tks
Love this review! I agree with so much of what you said. I reviewed it myself as well (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3Po8nwx-S5c.html) but I failed to mention the humor which is a very important aspect of it imo. Great review!
