Hereditary (Ari Aster, June 8, 2018) Movie • Page 28

you could argue that several scenes in the film were very dreamlike

 

Yeah that’s why I mention the effects themselves taking away from it for me. I have no problem buying that the body had to get up there some way, but it just looked so fake and out of place that I had to keep from giving an audible, “Welp.” The body in the house looked realistic and like it had just been cut off, but what flew up didn’t at all.

 

That part was great. The body floating up was literally the only shot in the movie I didn’t buy. There was such a strange peace to him once he was revived and they nailed it. Like seeing the dog and just kind of taking it in and moving on to the next bit of insanity. It all made sense in a kind of dream logic way where you just accept what you see, even the Christlike statue which could have easily seemed ridiculous. You’re with Peter/Paimon and just kind of checking out and rolling with it.

 

Yea I didnt think that but I kind of understand

^ to the body being drawn by a string

 

Their conversation during the nightmare was super Lynchian to me. From the kind of stilted yet emotional dialogue to the cuts to them covered in paint thinner, it was so disorienting.

 

Was Peter actually revived after he jumped out of the window? I didn’t think he died in the first place.

 

It seemed like he was perfectly still until the light goes into him and he starts moving again. I don’t know if it’s something that’s meant to be 100% clear or open to interpretation, but I don’t think there’s anything left of Peter once he falls.

 

My interpretation was that he didn't die when he hit the ground, but was knocked out and that spirit going into him reanimated him and then became Paimon.

 

That was the way I understood it as well.

 

I'd say making the cluck sound after standing up was an indication that Paimon was in him starting post-leap. We also know from Charlie's exstence, that you don't need to die in order to host Paimon.

 

Yeah I don’t know if him dying has any real effect on the ending or not so it’s pretty open-ended. The only difference would be if Peter has any awareness left of what’s happening to his body, in which case I would hope that he died.

 

i love that we are all still talking about this movie, omg.

i think we kind of get an answer via the deleted ending where peter gouges out his eyes. that seems like an aware host trying to make his body uninhabitable to get away from this situation. the bland expression and just taking it all in signals to me that peter is gone and there is only paimon.

 

I think Peter is essentially gone, it's all Paemon now. I think Charlie was a mix? Or there was some form of Paemon in her, and some of her was still there. But Peter is 100% Paemon?

 

I should have read your post before posting mine, because essentially, this.

 

since Paimon prefers a male host I feel like Charlie was kind of a mix, like she has Paimon in her but P can't reach his full powerful potential in a female host

that's my interpretation anyway

 

I take it the same way. The female host will never be as complete a possession for whatever reason and is somehow unstable, but when he gets Peter it’s fully successful.

I’d love to see the deleted scene to know the tone of it. I think I read one description that he also plucks out Joan’s eyes and she’s smiling? The difference between trying to do anything to escape or just completing some sort of “where we’re going we don’t need eyes” ritual is super different. I’m glad they stayed with this, his blank expression was haunting.

 

oh, I don't remember if I ever followed up on this, but when I saw this opening night, the theater was FULL of old people, it was so bizarre. My group was all mid-late 20s and a good 90% of the audience was 40-60, not your usual crowd. Turns out they were all there to support the movie because Colin Stetson is from Ann Arbor and they were all friends/family. Very cool.

 

It almost feels like Charlie had a lot of the traits of Paemon without knowing she wasn't herself. She was drawn to things as Paemon would. Her grandmother, headless dolls, chocolate if we want to use the devils food metaphor etc.

 

That’s what they WANT you to think.

 

RIGHT lmao between that and the weirdly quiet/unresponsive audience i had on my second viewing, i'm really confused as to what's afoot in Ann Arbor right now.

 

Oh nooooo. I’ll remember you fondly. Better tell my Michigan family to skip town too.

 

Hollywood has made a handful of recent films where the demon ends up winning in the end. I think the demon winning was the creepiest part of the film.

 

These old people thought it was a documentary about their cult.

 

I always want good to win out but it’s so effective when everything just goes bleak and it actually makes sense. I’m not into kill em all but when you have a slow buildup of dread and hope and then it all seems inevitable it’s amazing. It’s why this reminded me so much of The Wicker Man.

 

I just remembered after reading some posts, but when I saw it the second time, there was a total of about 25 people In the theater, but I noticed that 90% were middle aged + people and I immediately started thinking they were part of the cult