Rewatchables Reference

• Bill: The telephone pole beheading of Charlie – the party/car ride sequence.
• Chris and Sean: The last 40 minutes, from Steve burning to death onward – Peter wakes up, discovers charred dad, Mom is on the ceiling.
• Other contenders: Annie in the support group, the dinner scene ('Don't you swear at me, you little shit'), the family seance, Peter freaking out in the classroom.

• The real estate / the house – the perfect scary movie house with the treehouse and driveway.
• Colin Stetson's horror score – weird sounds and creaks, described as 'Shining-esque.'
• The durable rewatchability due to Easter eggs and clues planted throughout – compared favorably to 'The Sixth Sense'.
• Ann Dowd – her 'Dark Big Three' of 'Hereditary', The Leftovers, and The Handmaid's Tale.
• The miniature-to-room transition shot. The 'Halloween' classroom homage (John Carpenter window placement).

• Charlie's clacking noise – effective but has been co-opted/imitated in annoying ways.
• The 'smashing your face' trope – pioneered here but ripped off by Talk to Me, Longlegs, Smile.
• The term 'elevated horror' – hasn't aged well, feels pretentious.
• Alex Wolff's method acting on set.

• The opening shot: slow push into the miniature that transitions into the actual room. Unanimous pick.
• Chris also mentioned Steve on fire as a candidate.

• Judy Collins' version of 'Both Sides Now' (Joni Mitchell song) in the closing credits.
• Kid Cudi's 'Pursuit of Happiness' at the party. The 'Reborn / Hail Paimon' double track also praised.

• Chris: Peter's friends could have had more definition – nobody asks him about his sister's death.
• Sean: Peter's potential girlfriend needed more development.
• Bill: The movie is hard to fully understand on first watch (not the movie's fault, but you need 2-3 viewings).

• Chris: If Paimon calls you, you should take the meeting. Rather than getting everyone decapitated, maybe just negotiate.
• Sean: The cultists are on to something about not wearing clothes – no shame, being your true self.
• Bill: Making a horror movie about hell is easy – nobody knows what hell is like, so you can make up anything.

Lucas Hedges as Peter – coming off 'Manchester by the Sea' and Lady Bird, he was 'the Prince of A24' at the time.

• Ann Dowd (Joan) – unanimous pick.
• Kathleen Chalfant (the grandmother) also mentioned.

• Beheading/decapitation scenes: Yes – three decapitations in one movie.
• Toni Collette: Possibly, debated against Little Miss Sunshine.
• Ari Aster: This launched his three-movie run ('Hereditary', Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid).
• A24: No – Everything Everywhere All at Once was their Apex Mountain.

• Peter was inebriated during the car accident that killed Charlie – no police investigation, no school inquiry.
• Annie doesn't realize Joan is close friends with her mom, despite being in the same neighborhood.
• Why would Annie want Peter to take 13-year-old Charlie to a high school party?
• Why didn't Peter lock his bedroom door after the paint thinner incident?

• Toni Collette – goes 'really big' in her performance, compared to Julianne Moore in 'Magnolia'. Bill said it's overacting but she's so good it works.
• Alex Wolff – the 'Why did you try to kill me?' scene.

• Bring an EpiPen.
• Move out if your mom tried to kill you with paint thinner.
• Build a strong community – the cultists executed their plan effectively and played the long game.

• Bill: 'The Ice Storm'.
• Chris: 'The Exorcist' III – a really good possession movie.
• Sean: Rosemary's Baby – deeply connected, both harrowing and kind of hilarious in the final scenes.

Unanimous: Ari Aster. His feature debut launched a three-movie run with increasing creative freedom. Beau Is Afraid ($35 million) was a blank-check project made possible by Hereditary's success.