movie with me. As loving father I agreed. This time I figured out what is truly going on in the movie! Caution - Spoiler !!: The dear grandmom was a satanist. I knew that from the first time. Joanne, her "girlfriend" as well. I also got that one. But what was the electric impulse which you could see? This i figured out the second time. It was Paimon, the demon haunting the son of Annie. But Paimon needed the son to be dead first to be able to enter his body for good - which happenes just at the end of the movie when Peter jumpes out of the window. You can see Peter lying on the ground in front of the house when the electric impulse comes and enters Peters body. That was Paimon. Now Paimon has entered Peters body finally. The summoning was successful. And finally - Peter now Paimon makes that strange sound with his tongue, just like Charlie did before. Why? Charlie was the host of Paimon before. But her body was not healthy and it was a girls body, not the body of a man, which Paimon needed. Thats why Charlies grandmother wanted to her to be a boy instead of being a girl. Makes sense now? And btw: Paimon is a real figure as well as the sign used in this film. It is one of the 72 demons from the Grimoire - some magic book also used by people like Aleister Crowley. Knowing that, the film has now become a real masterpiece. The tension increases constantly till the showdown at the end, when the movie suddenly becomes one of the most fearing horror movies I have ever seen. Well done A24 and Ari Aster! Great acting from the cast as well!

together to create a truly unique and hellish vision of horror. I'm a horror veteran, and rarely actually jump or feel tense, but this film made me feel like a horror virgin again, actually frightening me like no other Hollywood film can.The acting was also superb all around and only adds to the horror being presented on screen. Each character was unique and added their own style to this modern horror masterpiece. I saw many people in the theater jumping and looking away, some being grown men. A couple people even left, and I can't imagine its because they felt it was a bad film, because it was not. I am seriously considering going and seeing it again which hasn't happened since the Evil Dead remake and The Raid. I would say this film is a must see for any horror fan or for anyone wanting to be scared out of their minds.

through that lens. The modern horror fan goes to their local theater and parts with their money on the expectation that their selected horror film will "deliver the goods", so to speak: startle them a sufficient number of times scaling appropriately with the film's runtime, of course and give them the money shots blood, gore, graphic murders, well-lit and up-close views of the applicable CGI monster etc. If a horror movie fails to deliver those goods, it's scoffed at and falls into the "worst film I've ever seen" category. I put that in quotes because a disgruntled filmgoer behind me broadcasted those exact words across the theater as the credits for this film rolled. He really wanted us to know his thoughts.Like similarly fantastic and crowd-displeasing horror films of the past few years, The Witch and It Comes At Night, Hereditary is a film that largely deals in atmosphere and emotional horror. The Shining, which happens to be my favorite horror film, is a clear touchstone and I would go as far as saying that this is the first modern horror film I've seen that genuinely captures a similar tone and ethos. Much like that film, it delivers its horror through an intensifying sense of unease and dread that becomes nearly suffocating by its conclusion. Rather than startling you with cheap scares, it offers haunting and upsetting images which are often delivered without any of those overused sonic jolts. Perhaps most importantly, it anchors everything in an emotional core with nuanced characters who experience relatable family struggles and grief. And that is absolutely critical to what makes the movie effective and resonant: it works on a metaphorical level, using the supernatural story as a vehicle to explore the very real way in which a family can be absolutely ravaged by tragedy, and furthermore how trauma and mental illness are passed through the generations. I'd be remiss not to mention that Toni Collette gives a mesmerizing performance in this film that is absolutely unhinged and truly difficult to stomach at times.For all that praise and as excellent as I think it is, Hereditary isn't quite a masterpiece. Despite the fact that I was very much invested and riveted throughout the length of the film, there were some detectable pacing issues. I feel conflicted in saying that because I'm very much a fan of the slow-burn horror style which benefits from a deliberate pace, but I did get the occasional nagging sense that things could've been tightened up just a tad without losing the effect. Some of the scares in the film, often the more "traditional" horror moments, also struck slightly the wrong note with me on a first viewing and were just a hair too campy or on-the-nose given how visionary and restrained the majority of the film is. And in its ending few minutes, the film really shows its full hand when a bit more ambiguity may have served it better.The positives far, far outweigh the negatives here though and Hereditary is ultimately a remarkable debut horror film which showcases what the genre is capable of when it's taken seriously by a talented director. Here's hoping we'll continue to see more like it.Light 4.5/5

had no idea how the movie was going to play out which is a criticism I have with a lot modern horror/thriller movies. This in large part has to do with the marketing campaign but more on that later. I feel the term slow burn has a negative connotation associated with it and prefer to call this movie tense. It doesn't really on jump scares that plague a lot of modern horror and chooses tension and imagery to scare the audience with slow camera panning and fantastic cinematography, a nervous score, and great performances. Toni Collette gives and incredible performance as a manic mother who is mourning the loss of a parent. The supporting cast is fantastic as well and they all have a time to shine at some point in the movie. The movie is also challenging in its themes with relationships between parents and their children always in the forefront. The human drama of this movie far exceeded my expectations and is worthy viewing in its own right. To try and explain why audiences are trashing the film through some mediums not as much on IMDb, see CinemaScore, Rotten Tomatoes for example I think it is important to understand that we live in an impatient culture. Many horror classics of the past like the two I mention earlier weren't fast paced and instead lingered on images and favored slow paced horror. I think the modern horror audience can get restless when presented with a movie like this. I don't think Rosemary's Baby or the Exorcist would review very well with broad audiences if they were released today. Secondly, I think the film has succeeded in making people uncomfortable by questioning parent's feelings for their children and how they are displayed. This movie is complex and has a lot to say. Comparing this film to another fantastic horror movie from this year, A Quiet Place, offers a great juxtaposition of this idea. One is very simple in it's premise that quickly gets to the scares while the other takes it's time to build to a climax that may or may not be worth the wait depending on the viewer. Overall, Hereditary offers plenty of horrific imagery and supernatural scares that work as a deeper examination of familial relationships rather than being a string a horror movie cliches.9/10 - excellent

performances carry their own, including one I was unsure of at first but grew on me throughout -- Alex Wolff. The cinematography, rhythms and pacing, sense of place and space, and sound design are all superb and work in conjunction to create atmosphere and dread -- like a pit in your stomach that continues to grow and grow throughout.It turns into a genuine nightmare that absolutely worked for me. See it blind, see it as a movie first and foremost not as a horror show with jump scares , but just see it.