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In this episode, we tackle Hereditary, Ari Aster’s devastating 2018 debut and one of the films most often credited with launching a new era of “elevated horror.” After the death of her estranged mother, miniature artist Annie Graham struggles to process her complicated grief. When her daughter Charlie dies in a shocking accident, the family fractures under the weight of blame, guilt, and unbearable loss. What begins as a family drama about grief, resentment, and inheritance curdles into something far darker as supernatural events occur and Annie Graham and her family discover that their suffering may have been orchestrated long before the story even begins.

We unpack the film as both a supernatural horror and a deeply human tragedy about motherhood, blame, intergenerational trauma, and the corrosive effects of grief. We discuss Annie’s ambivalence toward motherhood, Peter’s unbearable guilt and trauma, Charlie’s unsettling presence, and the way Ari Aster traps his characters inside a dollhouse world where something is playing with them. Along the way, we explore fate versus agency, cult manipulation, spiritualism and grief exploitation, and why this film hurts as much (or more?) than it scares.

Content & Spoiler Warning:

This episode includes discussion of child death, grief, suicide and suicidal ideation, self-harm, decapitation, anaphylaxis, possession, cults, toxic parent–child relationships, intergenerational trauma, mental illness, body horror, animal death (a dog, shown after the fact), disturbing sound design (including tongue clicking and wet mouth noises), and graphic emotional distress. Also, as usual, we fully spoil Hereditary. You might want to your eyes around 33 and half minutes. Listener and viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Here’s a link if you want to know more: https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3535054/hereditary-hidden-clues/

Palate Cleanser:

After something this bleak, we recommend:

• Heated Rivalry (HBO) - Caroline is obsessed!
• Watching TikToks of people reacting to shows they love

Recommendations:

If Hereditary got under your skin, you might want to explore:

• Other Ari Aster films, especially Midsommar (grief, cults)
• The Sixth Sense (and our Episode 12) for another Toni Collette performance as a mom dealing with the supernatural.
• Rosemary’s Baby which is clearly an inspiration
• The Babadook — motherhood, grief, and a difficult child
• Pet Sematary (book) — Stephen King’s bleakest exploration of parental grief
• The Shining for slow-burn dread
• The Haunting of Hill House for more family trauma wrapped in horror
• Unobscured (Season 2) by Aaron Mahnke, for historical context on spiritualism
• Sleepwalk With Me by Mike Birbiglia, for a funnier and safer take on dangerous sleepwalking
• United States of Tara, for more Toni Collette navigating fractured identity
• The Yellow Wallpaper (see our earlier episode), for women, madness, and being trapped inside domestic spaces

Homework for Next Episode:

Watch: Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story

We pivot back to true crime with the story of the Stayner family—another exploration of family trauma, captivity, and the long-term consequences of violence.

But before that watch:
Trainwreck: Poop Cruise (yes, really), followed by reading Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for the podcast cover art (Instagram: @n