History YMMV / Hereditary

* OvershadowedByControversy: The film's trailer was accidentally shown before a screening of family film ''Film/PeterRabbit'' at a theater in Australia, resulting in a stampede of terrified kids.

* {{Narm}}: Much like ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''Hereditary'' is deeply terrifying and profoundly disturbing. Also like ''The Exorcist'', it's also just a bit silly.

** Colin Stetson is wonderfully effective and atmospheric, especially in pieces like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G9sy_KtARk Funeral]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVnSFj6XQZY Reborn]].

* {{Narm}}:

* GeniusBonus: [[spoiler:Paimon is in fact a demon of real-life mythology, and the cult's symbol is a real rune that can supposedly be used to invoke him. Traditionally, he's depicted with a male body but a female head, which may be why decpaitating women seems to have ritual significance to the cult. There is one small error, though - Joan describes Paimon as one of the eight Kings of Hell, but in real-world demonology, there are nine]].

** While Alex Wolff generally delivers a great performance, his childish crying during some scenes borders on humorous at times.
*** Although this becomes slightly less narmey when you realize that he’s crying like a child because he’s [[spoiler: already being possessed by Charlie/Paimon.]]

* CriticalDissonance: The film received rave reviews from critics, with a RottenTomatoes score of 94%. Not so much from the average moviegoer, with a Cinemascore[[labelnote:note]]A randomized survey of average moviegoers post-screening[[/labelnote]] rating of D+. On top of that, the [=RT=] audience score has been dropping over the past few days which went from a healthy 77% to a 64% and dropping.

* SugarWiki/HeCanReallyAct: Alex Wolff has proven he can act before in films like ''Film/PatriotsDay'', but this really one that he can flex his acting chops here in terms of the varying shades of grief, despair and horror he puts on display here.
* MisaimedMarketing: [[Film/TheWitch Once]] [[Film/ItComesAtNight again]], Creator/A24 puts out a horror film to a mainstream audience that looks like a relentless scarefest in the trailers but the actual film is much more of a slower burn than that and that result ends up pissing off general audiences expecting something much more conventional.

* HeCanReallyAct: Alex Wolff has proven he can act before in films like ''Film/PatriotsDay'', but this really one that he can flex his acting chops here in terms of the varying shades of grief, despair and horror he puts on display here.
* MisaimedMarketing: [[Film/TheWitch Once]] [[Film/ItComesAtNight again]], Creator/[=A24=] puts out a horror film to a mainstream audience that looks like a relentless scarefest in the trailers but the actual film is much more of a slower burn than that and that result ends up pissing off general audiences expecting something much more conventional.

* CriticalDissonance: The film received rave reviews from critics, with a RottenTomatoes score of 94%. Not so much from the average moviegoer, with a Cinemascore[[labelnote:note]]A randomized survey of average moviegoers post-screening[[/labelnote]] rating of D+.

* {{Narm}}: While Alex Wolff generally delivers a great performance, his childish crying during some scenes borders on humorous at times.

* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: Let's just say that fans of [[spoiler: Margaret Atwood won't be surprised when [[Series/TheHandmaidsTale2017 Aunt Lydia]] turns out to be EvilAllAlong.]]

* WinTheCrowd: The trailer's emphasis on actual frightening imagery over cheap {{jump scare}}s has many viewers of the trailer looking forward to seeing the final movie. The fact that the film is coming from Creator/{{A24}}, that has made similarly acclaimed films like ''Film/TheWitch'', certainly helps. The film currently sits at a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 9/10, an extremely high average that almost no other horror films on the site reach.

* CounterpartComparison: Let's see: A trailer showcasing bizarre imagery, the unknown extent of the plot, said plot focusing on mothers, the off-putting feel of an idealistic house setting and a soundtrack consisting of PsychoStrings. Are we talking about ''Hereditary'' or ''[[Film/Mother2017 mother!]]''?

* CounterpartComparison: Let's see: A trailer showcasing bizarre imagery, the unknown extent of the plot, the plot focuses on titular mothers and the off putting feel of an idealistic house setting. Are we talking about ''Hereditary'' or ''[[Film/Mother2017 mother!]]''?

* WinTheCrowd: The trailer's emphasis on actual frightening imagery over cheap {{jump scare}}s has many viewers of the trailer looking forward to seeing the final movie. The fact that the film is coming from Creator/{{A24}}, that has made similarly acclaimed films like ''Film/TheWitch'', certainly helps.