We are finally back to do what we do best, or sometimes mediocre. We’re back to reviewing one film a month, and for September, Cece chose Hereditary. So her, Chris, and I answered a bunch of questions to the best of our knowledge. My name is Kent, and usually, I interject some inane commentary to the other people’s responses, but a lot of these answers stand on their own. Anything you see in bold will be written by me, just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did Annie ever have a choice in the matter?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: I guess the fuck not. Her whole life was completely run by her mother. It\u2019s sick and twisted, but it\u2019s true.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: If you consider that she was being manipulated by her mother, probably from birth, and definitely directly from her brother\u2019s suicide, to bring about the events that happened in a way similar to how they happened, then no, probably not.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: To quote Dr. Dre and Ice Cube in Natural Born Killaz: \u201cDoomed to be a killa since I came out the nutsack\u201d. Family is a big theme, hell the film is called Hereditary. I don\u2019t think that there was any way that she was going to be able to avoid these events. Aside from being molded in a particular manner, people like Joan wouldn\u2019t have allowed it to play out any other way.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why did Annie get the ability to fly and do crazy shit?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: She was possessed most of the times she was floating and stuff I believe?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: Well, technically since she was crazy, everything she did was crazy shit. But I see that as less of a factual thing and more as the spirits of Charlie, Grandmama and whoever else the naked ghosts in the house were, and Prince Powerman manipulating Annie and Peter\u2019s perceptions to get him to finally commit suicide<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: Out of anything that I don\u2019t have a 100% answer for, this is it. Did the spirit possess Annie briefly? I believe the spirit was in Peter at that time, but maybe there was a transitional phase. This is the one question that I don\u2019t have a reasonable answer to.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Were you upset initially when Charlie died?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: Woah. Like, what the fuck? I honestly had NO idea this would happen so soon into the film. I didn\u2019t think she died in this movie. I thought she was going to be the normal creepy kids stable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: Holy shit! I knew she was going to die, having that spoilered back when the movie came out, but nowhere at all did I expect it to be that brutal. Kudos to the movie team for that one<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: I was pissed. Charlie was the character I latched onto immediately because creepy kids doing creepy shit is great. I was totally bummed out, but it was a necessary evil for the story. Really great death scene.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was Annie\u2019s sleepwalking really her sleepwalking or something\u2026..hereditary? Sorry, but seriously, was she really just sleepwalking?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: I don\u2019t think the \u2018sleepwalking\u2019 she was doing while we saw her in the film was real. I believe it had something to do with her possession and all the freaky shit happening in the house. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Chris: I would say that it was sleepwalking with a purpose based off of her subconscious. She didn\u2019t want kids and hated herself, let\u2019s burn us all to death<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kent: SO to go back to my response of Question 2, if a spirit could have entered her, then I would suggest that. Sleepwalking and other sleep activities happen for a reason. I used to sleepwalk a lot as a child. Then it just stopped. I don\u2019t think I was possessed, but I\u2019m not 100% sure of this. Let\u2019s face it, my tubby ass would have been a poor vessel to choose.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who had the best performance(s)?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: The best performances were Annie and Peter. The actors were so good. The father seemed very dry and stuff and so I couldn\u2019t gauge him well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: The whole family was great. Annie and Steve are both known as great actors, and the kids did a great job too. Joanie from Handmaid’s Tale was pretty great in her 180\u00b0 turn too<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Kent: Ann Dowd as Joan because I love that lady. I thought both kids did a very good job because so many horror films with kids get sunk by poor children performances. Of course, Gabriel Byrne did his think. I was really impressed by Toni Collette. She had to do some crazy emotional shit and I liked it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did the family really have a dog?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: Yes. I saw the dog many times. However, as my roommate pointed out, they only had a dog when it was convenient. Ha! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: I don\u2019t remember them having one until Peter saw one outside his door, so no. Good job fucking with my head there<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: I\u2019m going to say no, because we only saw it focused on that one time which may or may not have been real. If they had a dog, we would have seen it more, right? Like it would have been barking during any number of the freaky occurrences? If I had to guess, they intended on the dog having a bigger role but those scenes got cut in the final edit and we are left with this. (Edit: Godamn it. While rewatching, the dog is right there in the opening sequence. I was wrong.)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Were you hoping for more storyline with the miniatures or were you satisfied?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: I didn\u2019t need anymore storyline with the miniatures. I did want a little more explanations overall though.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: Yes. Standing as an allegory for the fact that the family is being manipulated like puppets is heavy handed and in your face. At least they could have used the models to set up a scare or two<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: Yeah, this had a lot of potential. I thought it was going to play a much bigger role, but as Chris said, it was just a heavy-handed allegory. I guess it worked, but we know that there potential for more cool shit. To quote a Bronx Tale: \u201cThe worst thing in life is wasted talent.\u201d They had the chance to do more.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will someone be dumb enough to try to make a sequel to this?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: There really is no need for it. It was super interesting and unique on its own. I like it the way it is. Someone may try, though.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: It made money so yes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: I am going to say no. Horror typically FORCES sequels even when there is no need, and often don\u2019t bring back the original person behind the brilliance. There are so many bad sequels to list, but like I fear it would be something like The Last Exorcism where they try to keep it close to the original story and add on, but just fail. So please, leave it alone.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who was the most sympathetic character in this film?<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: Peter. Absolutely hands down. He felt guilt for killing his sister, his parents and grandmother could give 2 shits about him and he was just used as a vessel.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: Steve, the dad. Trapped in the middle, trying to hold a family together between guilt, mental disorders, and the supernatural, what can you do. Toni Colette had some really great scenes, but when Gabriel Byrne broke down and started crying when he almost ran the red light, it got to me<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: My answer is Steve and I can\u2019t really add much to what Chris already said. Arguments can be made for any of the 4 family members. I will go with Charlie because she didn\u2019t want to go to that party. She surely didn\u2019t want to lose her head over it. I feel like if the Crypt Keeper said that, it would have been funny.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bonus Deuce:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
B1. There was a lot of symbolism and foreshadowing used throughout the movie (see the above question of the miniatures). Was there any that surprised you?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: The beheading was insane. I loved that. I also loved the whole \u2018she wanted me to be a boy\u2019 line in the beginning. My roommate and I pieced everything together toward the end with that.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: The traffic pole surprised me. I got that it would become significant due to the lingering shot of it earlier, but wouldn’t have guessed how it would be<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: The beheading aspect was super neat. I don\u2019t think they revealed too early about the grandmother\u2019s head being removed, we just knew something had happened. Charlie happened, and even as Annie is cutting her head off, I still didn\u2019t put a ton of thought into it. But in total, I really liked that aspect. I also liked the various names or signatures on the minis.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
B2. The party scene felt off and a little surreal to me when I watched it. Part of me wonders if I am so far removed from youth today that I just didn\u2019t connect with it or is it supposed to be one of the first scenes showcasing the mental breakdown occurring due to illness\/hereditary traits\/the supernatural at work?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: The party was definitely very off. It seemed almost like they weren\u2019t even really there.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: This is my question and what bothered me about the scene, other than that it dates the movie, is that no one has a problem with Charlie being there. No one bullies her or makes fun of her, they serve her cake. It\u2019s pretty obvious that she is odd, and a loner. Peter\u2019s girl interest (who also had the flattest butt I have ever seen a camera linger on) remarks that she is odd, but no one seems to have an issue that a weird 13-year-old is just wandering around this party. Every group of teenagers I have ever been around wouldn’t have been that oblivious to not smell blood in the water and make faces if not remarks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: Given all of the things in this film that one can nitpick, this may have been the biggest one. Yup, I am overlooking Annie being on the ceiling for this. There is no way that Peter held enough sway at that party to prevent Charlie from being picked on. Kids will be kids and are dicks. Even if some are chill, some would have been cruel. I was just happy that they were nice enough to give her cake, despite knowing it was going to F her up. I will offer this thought. Charlie was already possessed at that point by Paimon, or however it is spelled. Was Paimon so powerful that Charlie kinda skated through the party as unscathed as she did? I keep wanting to call him Pei Mei from Kill Bill.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Thoughts – Did you like it and would you rewatch it or recommend it to other people?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Cece: I definitely liked it. I haven\u2019t sat down and watched a modern \u2018horror\u2019 flick in a long time. This movie actually gave me goosebumps and made me jump a couple times. It was far more than just jump scares, though. It was psychological and that\u2019s what I loved about it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chris: I liked it for the performances. They were pretty spot on and it felt like the director knew to just let the actor\u2019s act. Additionally, Charlie\u2019s death was unexpectedly brutal and the intriguing prospect of it being something like the Babadook where you aren\u2019t sure of what is real or imagined due to mental illness. When it turns 90\u00b0 into Rosemary\u2019s Baby though, it just felt like a letdown. They did it well (Annie\u2019s headless levitating corpse) but it felt like a cheat since none of it could have been figured out from watching the movie and noticing previous signs. They just dumped a lot of fourth act sidestepping<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kent: I really did like this. I plan on buying it\u2026..when it is $10 or less. For a modern horror that made it into the theaters, it was good. Yes, they did pull a classic horror technique of giving us an overload of info at the end to tie everything together. Still, they did a good job with the slow burn parts. The acting was superb for a horror. I think that this is a film I could rewatch and have fun. I would recommend it to people who like possession films. I like tossing out recommendations. If you like possession movies then find Ava\u2019s Possessions. It was on NetFlix for a while. It\u2019s not on there, HULU, or Prime. If you know what you\u2019re doing, find it. I think it was well done and different.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the pictures used in this blog are for review purposes. They are the property of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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