Overview
A family's grief unravels dark secrets that threaten to consume them all.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- oppressive
- foreboding
- harrowing
- late night horror viewing
- arthouse horror marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a harrowing, unusually unsettling horror drama with exceptional craft and a career-defining performance from Toni Collette.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Annie's family secrets and emotional wounds pass through generations alongside the supernatural threat.
The Graham home, miniatures, bedrooms, and family gatherings become increasingly isolating and threatening.
The family’s mourning after a death drives the film’s oppressive emotional register and supernatural escalation.
Rituals, family secrets, and recurring visual details establish the supernatural threat before its meaning becomes clear.
Films like Hereditary, and why
The Witch
Shares slow-building psychological horror, intergenerational trauma, occult menace, and an oppressive domestic atmosphere.
Rosemary's Baby
Shares occult family terror, grief-driven dread, satanic undertones, and a highly influential domestic horror framework.
The Exorcist
Shares dysfunctional family dynamics, supernatural possession, disturbing imagery, and escalating emotional violence.
The Babadook
Shares grief, parental guilt, bleak supernatural horror, and an emotionally devastating atmosphere.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ari Aster
- Release Date
- 2018-06-07
- Runtime
- 128 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (8932)
Cast
- Toni Collette
- Alex Wolff
- Gabriel Byrne
- Milly Shapiro
- Ann Dowd
- Mallory Bechtel
- Brock McKinney
- Jake Brown
- Morgan Lund
- Christy Summerhays
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hereditary about?
- A grieving family’s inherited secrets awaken an occult terror that turns mourning, parenthood, and home into sources of profound dread.
- What is Hereditary like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hereditary as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Hereditary violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Hereditary as graphic.
- What did critics think of Hereditary?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a harrowing, unusually unsettling horror drama with exceptional craft and a career-defining performance from Toni Collette.
- Which films are like Hereditary?
- Films with a similar feel include The Witch, Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and The Babadook.
- How long is Hereditary?
- Hereditary runs 128 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hereditary?
- In United States, Hereditary streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max.
