History YMMV / Hereditary

** A lot of people think horror is supposed to be fun because Hollywood has bastardized it and turned it into fun. ''Horror'' is supposed to be ''horrifying,'' not fun. Most people don't want ''true'' horror, they want kid-gloves "horror," they want to laugh and have a good time and get startled by jump-scares. This film is not supposed to be fun, it's not Hollywood's "horror." It's supposed to fuck you up. It's genuine horror. That's what makes it such an all-time great in the genre.

** Steve. The OnlySaneMan in the Graham family, he loses [[spoiler:his daughter in an accident that his son inadvertently caused]]. Then the relationship between his wife and son deteriorates, and Steve is forced to protect him from her [[spoiler: once the cult begins influencing her]]. [[spoiler: He fails ultimately, and ends up burning to death in his own living room]].
** Annie. Her reaction to [[spoiler:the death of her daughter]] and the fact that her son inadvertently played a part in it is absolutely gut-wrenching. [[spoiler: And then she finds out that her mother, and her friend, Joan, both played a part in engineering the downfall of her family and the death of Charlie, all to summon the Demon King Paimon for their own selfish desires]].
** And finally, Charlie. [[spoiler: She's chosen as the vessel for King Paimon since her birth, and grows up with the soul with a demon against her will. Because the demon is dissatisfied with having a female host, the cult conspires to have Charlie brutally killed in a freak accident to appease King Paimon. After her horrible death, her spirit is brought back during a seance, absolutely confused and terrified of what has happened to her.]]

*** A lot of people think horror is supposed to be fun because Hollywood has bastardized it and turned it into fun. ''Horror'' is supposed to be ''horrifying,'' not fun. Most people don't want ''true'' horror, they want kid-gloves "horror," they want to laugh and have a good time and get startled by jump-scares. This film is not supposed to be fun, it's not Hollywood's "horror." It's supposed to fuck you up. It's genuine horror. That's what makes it such an all-time great in the genre.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The film has this problem for the opposite reason as most horror films: not because the characters are [[DevelopingDoomedCharacters poorly acted, boring, or just plain detestable]] so that [[EightDeadlyWords you don't care]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch or outright cheer on]] what happens to them, but because they're a realistic and fairly sympathetic ordinary suburban family - which makes what happens to them even less fun to watch. For a ''significant'' number of people, the movie had already over this line after [[spoiler:a child gets ''decapitated'']] in a horrible car accident 45 minutes in, the fact that things only proceed to [[FromBadToWorse get worse]] from that point onward. Aster stated that one of his intents with the film was to create a scenario in which the audience would feel real sympathy for the sort of characters that would be nameless, faceless {{Sacrificial Lamb}}s in any other horror movie. Given the [[CriticalDissonance exceedingly polarized reaction to the film]], the argument can definitely be made that he succeeded a bit too well.

--->"I wanted to make a film about that, but if I did make that as a bleak drama that ends on something of a hopeless note, first good luck finding the financing – and then if I do find the financing, I’m not going to have the resources that I had for this film – but then good luck finding an audience for it."

* WinTheCrowd: The trailer's emphasis on actual frightening imagery over cheap {{jump scare}}s won it many an audience-goer. Being produced by Creator/{{A24}} (who've made other acclaimed films like ''Film/TheWitch'') certainly also helped the film open to such critical and commercial success.

* TheWoobie: ''Everyone'' in the Graham family.

* AwardSnub: ''Hoo boy''. Despite unanimous critical praise for her performance, Creator/ToniCollette was not nominated at the Oscars or the Golden Globes, nor was her equally acclaimed supporting cast, and the movie wasn't nominated in any other categories, either. Especially irritating for some because the field of actual Oscar nominees this year was considered unusually weak, with a number of movies that received highly mixed reviews but were seemingly nominated anyway just for having [[OscarBait more palatable subject matter.]] Many online reviewers opined that this film would quite possibly have swept the awards if it was anything but [[FantasyGhetto an R-rated horror film]].

** Colin Stetson's [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kAwnNnimKAZtG8hlzWJY5wChKjMxO-iB4 score]] 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]].
** The end credits uses a cover of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Xm30heHms Both Sides Now]] by Judy Collins.

* AngstAversion: [[spoiler:A child gets decapitated]] in the first hour of the movie, and it actually does nothing but ''[[FromBadToWorse get worse]]'' from that point afterwards. Unless you're a fan of watching a family of mostly decent people fall apart in painfully realistic portrayals of grief that drives them to do horrible things to each other and drags them down to a dark place [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding from which there is no escape]] [[KillEmAll but death]]]], it can be [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy a pretty difficult movie to enjoy.]]

** Although Alex Wolff generally delivers a great performance, some viewers have criticized the childish way he cries in some scenes. Of course, [[JustifiedTrope his character Peter is only 16]], and the kinds of situations he finds himself in would make make almost anyone regress.
*** It's also possibly [[spoiler: an effect of being possessed by Paimon, who still believes he's Charlie, a 13-year-old girl]].

** Colin Stetson's score 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]].

** Although Alex Wolff generally delivers a great performance, some viewers have criticized the childish way he cries in some scenes. Of course, [[JustifiedTrope his character Peter ''is'' only 16]], and the kinds of situations he finds himself in would make make almost anyone regress.

** While Alex Wolff generally delivers a great performance, his childish crying during some scenes has been criticized as humorous at times, although this becomes [[FridgeBrilliance more justified]] if you interpret it as:
*** Him being unable to process the events of the film such that he psychologically reverts to a scared child in a teenager's body.
*** Him [[spoiler:already being possessed by Charlie/Paimon, in that case ''literally'' reverting to a scared child in a teenager's body.]]

** [[spoiler: Annie leaving Peter's room by crawling in the air looks more like she's doggy paddling in the air.]]

** Although Annie and Peter's argument at the dinner table after [[spoiler: Charlie's death]] is mostly very effective, the line "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment that fucking face on your face]]" does ruin the mood just a bit. [[NarmCharm However, it is also the kind of thing someone would say when flustered and angry, so it's justified.]]
** [[spoiler: For some, the ending featuring a bunch of old cultists shouting "HAIL PAIMON", along with Peter wearing a Burger King-esque paper crown, makes the film's ending seem positively lighthearted.]]

* SignatureScene: Either the dinner scene where Annie screams at Peter, or the film's major turning point in [[spoiler:Charlie's [[OffWithHerHead decapitation]]]].

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The film [[https://floydfilm.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/a-political-reading-of-hereditary-and-awful-parents-in-indie-horrors-new-wave/ has been interpreted]] as a supernatural allegory for late-2000s-2010s economic woes and generational conflict. [[spoiler:Ellen, an elderly woman, deliberately engineers the ruining, and ultimately the end, of the lives of her own children and grandchildren, all in the name of wealth and worldly pleasures for her band of similarly aged friends, who [[KarmaHoudini suffer no punishment whatsoever]], having rigged things in their favor for decades]].
* WinTheCrowd: The trailer's emphasis on actual frightening imagery over cheap {{jump scare}}s had many viewers of the trailer looking forward to seeing the final movie, with the fact that it's from Creator/{{A24}} (who made similarly acclaimed films like ''Film/TheWitch'') certainly helping, and it opened to mass critical and commercial success.
* TheWoobie: ''Everyone'' in the Graham family. Damn...
** Peter. The kid's mental and emotional breakdown over the course of the film after partially causing [[spoiler:Charlie's death]] is rough to watch.
** Steve. He loses [[spoiler:his daughter in an accident that was inadvertently caused by his son]], has to witness his wife and son viciously argue with each other over the event, and he has to protect Peter from Annie while the latter is slowly turning insane and hostile. He's also the OnlySaneMan in the family who tries his best to keep the family together and is the only one [[spoiler:not to be possessed or witness any supernatural events]]. He ends up getting [[spoiler:burned to death]].
** Annie. Her reaction to [[spoiler:the death of her own daughter]] and the fact that her son inadvertently played a part in it is absolutely gut-wrenching. [[spoiler: And then she finds out that her mother, and her friend, Joan, both played a part in engineering the downfall of her family and the death of Charlie, all to summon the Demon King Paimon for their own selfish desires]].

%%*** Horror enthusiast and film scholar Nyx Fears shared a radical interpretation of the film in her vlog, suggesting that the opening shot (in which the camera zooms into a room of the mother's giant dollhouse, from which the film begins proper) is informing the audience that the film proper is actually the mother retelling the story of how her family fell apart [[MetaphoricallyTrue from a point of view]] that is [[UnreliableNarrator more favourable to her]]. "''I'' couldn't have possibly torn my family apart, it was [[spoiler:this Satanic cult!" Nyx then lays down her "hot take" theory -- citing elements of the film -- that suggests the story is ''actually'' about Charlie's transition, and of the mother's horrific rejection of his sexuality that tears the family apart.]]

** In another strange sense, there's an interpretation that the entire film is actually more about [[spoiler: Charlie actually becoming a trans boy and the entire film is an allegory to how Charlie goes to becoming trans (Peter), her family rejects it, and finds happiness with others]]. Although this theory is surprisingly small and has become known through youtuber Nyx Fears (as implied she made the theory due to her own transitioning).
%%*** Horror enthusiast and film scholar Nyx Fears shared a radical interpretation of the film in her vlog, suggesting that the opening shot (in which the camera zooms into a room of the mother's giant dollhouse, from which the film begins proper) is informing the audience that the film proper is actually the mother retelling the story of how her family fell apart [[MetaphoricallyTrue from a point of view]] that is [[UnreliableNarrator more favourable to her]]. "''I'' couldn't have possibly torn my family apart, it was [[spoiler:this Satanic cult!" Nyx then lays down her "hot take" theory -- citing elements of the film -- that suggests the story is ''actually'' about Charlie's gender transition from a woman to a man, and of the mother's horrific rejection of his sexuality that tears the family apart.]]

** Big debates in regards to the movie are [[spoiler: who really was at fault for Charlie's death? There are debates on Annie being at fault due to her forcing Peter (''and'' Charlie, mind you, who voiced concern that she didn't want to go) while some point at Peter not being responsible in taking care of his sister. Or, if you're going by the interpretation that Charlie was aware of the whole plot, did she deliberately commit suicide?]].

** [[spoiler: For some, the ending featuring straight up wicked witches shouting "HAIL PAIMON" in a voice that sounds like literally everybody's best evil witch impersonation, along with Peter wearing a Burger King-esque paper crown, makes the film's ending seem positively lighthearted.]]

** It's not totally clear [[spoiler: how much of Paimon's host is left after the possession.]] Given that Joan had to [[spoiler: tell Peter that he was Paimon]] it's quite possible a good deal is left, which could ultimately be bad news for [[spoiler: [[LaserGuidedKarma the worshippers who just murdered his entire family]].]]

** And finally, Charlie. [[spoiler: She's chosen as a vessel for King Paimon since her birth, and grows up sharing a soul with a demon against her will. Because the demon is dissatisfied with having a female host, the cult conspires to have Charlie brutally killed in a freak accident to appease King Paimon. After her horrible death, her spirit is brought back during a seance, absolutely confused and terrified of what has happened to her. Charlie becomes this even moreso when you consider WordOfGod's statement that Ellen expelled Charlie's soul from her body and replaced it with Paimon's in infancy; the sad, scared spirit Annie calls forth is thus presumably the first time the ''real'' Charlie has ''ever'' truly met her family]].
*** [[spoiler: If that was meant to be the "real" Charlie that was summoned, why would she be asking where her mom is, or recognize the rest of her family, or act anything like the Charlie we'd been shown? Joan didn't teach Annie that invocation so she'd summon a human child, she did it so she'd summon ''Paimon''. And since Paimon's been inhabiting the body we know as "Charlie" for the past 13 years, it stands to reason that it was Paimon who was summoned... only he thinks he's "Charlie", which is why he responds to that name and acts like "her".]]

** Big debates in regards to the movie are [[spoiler: who really was at fault for Charlie's death? There are debates on Annie being at fault due to her forcing Peter (''and'' Charlie, mind you, who voiced concern that she didn't want to go) while some point at Peter not being responsible in taking care of his sister]].

** [[spoiler: For some, the ending featuring straight up wicked witches shouting "HAIL PAIMON" in a voice that sounds like literally everybody's best evil witch impersonation makes the film's ending seem positively lighthearted.]]

** [[spoiler:Paimon is in fact a demon of real-life mythology, and the cult's symbol is a real sigil that can supposedly be used to invoke him. Traditionally, he's depicted with a male body but a female head, which may be why decapitating 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. (but does that really make much of a difference?)]]

* SignatureScene: Either the dinner scene where Annie screams at Peter, or the film's major turning point in [[spoiler:Charlie's]] [[OffWithHerHead decapitation]]]].
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Some viewers found the first half of the film, which focuses on realistic forms of horror such as grappling with the fact that your family has a history of severe mental illness [[spoiler:or experiencing the DeathOfAChild]], to be far stronger, and regard the later reveal that [[spoiler:these seemingly everyday tragedies were really masterminded by an evil cult]] to be [[NightmareRetardant borderline silly]].

* SignatureScene: Either the dinner scene where Annie screams at Peter, or the film's major turning point in [[spoiler:Charlie's]] [[OffWithHerHead decapitation]].

** [[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 decapitating 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. (but does that really make much of a difference?)]]

** To be clear: this movie is a very, very blunt metaphor for [[AbusiveParents the cycle of familial abuse]] with a directly nihilistic message about it, essentially encouraging abuse victims to commit suicide rather than attempt to leave their situations. '''This is not a movie the vast majority of people are going to like, and it is a movie that many people will find actively irresponsible.'''

*** Horror enthusiast and film scholar Nyx Fears shared a radical interpretation of the film in her vlog, suggesting that the opening shot (in which the camera zooms into a room of the mother's giant dollhouse, from which the film begins proper) is informing the audience that the film proper is actually the mother retelling the story of how her family fell apart [[MetaphoricallyTrue from a point of view]] that is [[UnreliableNarrator more favourable to her]]. "''I'' couldn't have possibly torn my family apart, it was [[spoiler:this Satanic cult!" Nyx then lays down her "hot take" theory -- citing elements of the film -- that suggests the story is ''actually'' about Charlie's gender transition from a woman to a man, and of the mother's horrific rejection of his sexuality that tears the family apart.]]