Opinions on Hereditary?

i saw it in theaters opening night with some friends, all of which who hadn't seen any of the trailers/etc., and the general consensus was that it was a very well done film. it's definitely a slowburn, so if you like slower paced films you'll probably enjoy it. it's a little arthouse-y in the sense that the camera tends to linger (some might say meander) during certain scenes and the plot unfolds like napkin origami (i.e. slowly). i don't think the supernatural or "horror" elements of it were that scary, but the themes of trauma and familial drama were very haunting. i absolutely recommend it.

I think it was amazing. I'd argue that its the spiritual (no pun intended) successor to The Shining. It is an emotionally exhausting and horrifying film. If you like horror movies with a lot of jump scares and well defined monsters/ghosts/demons as the center of the horror such as Paranormal Activity then Hereditary may not be for you. Hereditary is a far more nuanced psychological/emotional horror film like The Shining than popcorn summer horror movie. This isn't to say that there isn't good jump scares, I think the jump scare in this film is one of the best I've seen in a long time, but that's not what it centers around in movies like Paranormal Activity or The Conjuring. This also isn't meant to shit on Paranormal Activity, that is one of my favorite horror movies, but Hereditary is a horror film, there is a reason in premiered at Sundance.

Hereditary was amazing. I'm not a huge movie buff, but I love love horror movies, and I can be very affected by media that is sad/depressing/bleak.

This movie was a 2 hour long gut punch and the end was a fever dream. I was silently begging for it to be over because I was so overwhelmed. It was THE SADDEST horror movie I have ever seen; it was honest-to-goodness a tragedy. And while it takes a bit to get into the traditional horror elements, the tension, dread, and terror are almost stifling, even in the first half.

We saw it in a theater packed with college-aged kids and people who just wanted to see a typical horror movie, and it cheapened the experience for me. They talked, they guessed what the movie was going to be about... they just didn't "get" it. There's a part where one character throws water on another character; if you're paying attention, it is a DESPERATE attempt that is simultaneously terrifying and heartbreaking, and the audience just laughed like it was comic relief.

Traditional horror movies do not scare me (but I still love them). The psychological and traumatic aspects of this movie # terrified me. It was always 2 steps ahead of me, and I still feel a little bit shaken when I think about it 2 days later. A horror movie has never made me cry out of sadness before, but this one did it twice.

As a side note: the director has some very specific words about how the movie is to be interpreted which either makes a person like the movie more or less. The interpretation I had differed entirely from the director's, and the way I saw it made it so much scarier to me.

This has been really disjointed, but it's pretty much how I feel about the movie. It's only two hours long, but it feels like a lifetime. I absolutely loved it... but I don't know if I ever need to see it again.

PS: The performances were incredible.

I haven't seen it but Red Letter Media, who I trust a great deal, did a review of it... they overall recommended it but admitted that it was exceptionally dark, uncomfortably depressing and incredibly slow paced up until the last 15 minutes so isn't for everyone. I love slow burn, psychological horror so will probably watch it eventually even though I know the plot now.

Their review (spoilers start at 6 minuted in) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ysiCqy11tQ

Saw it in theaters and it was a waste of time. I like horror movies but this one just didn't do it for me.