‘Hereditary’: 5 Things to Watch For Now That It’s Streaming on Prime Video

Director Ari Aster’s Hereditary is not just the best horror movie of 2018, it’s one of the best movies of any genre that this generally excellent year in film has produced. Featuring a lead performance from Toni Collette that, were it in any other, more traditionally respected genre, would be raking in awards and nominations, Hereditary is a movie that, at different times, seems to be about a haunted house, then a haunted bloodline, then mental illness, then straight-up, literal evil. The references range from The Amityville Horror to Rosemary’s Baby and beyond, and if you’re not actively suppressing the urge to scream at least once in this movie, you’re trying way too hard to be cool.

With the film now available to stream for free with an Amazon Prime membership, here’s a handy guide for what to look out for, whether you’re watching the film for the first or fifth time (few 2018 films reward rewatching like Hereditary does).

Watch the whole frame

There is no better movie this year at using the entire frame to either communicate its story or terrify the audience or, ideally, both. So if you are watching this on Prime Video, make sure you’re streaming it to the biggest screen in your immediate vicinity. There are always so many things happening in the dark corners of the frame in this movie. From a piece of art direction that becomes pertinent later to, in the film’s horrifying final third, lurking dangers you never even knew were there.

Stop Being So Suspicious/Be More Suspicious

This mostly applies to second viewings and beyond. The first time I saw Hereditary, based on the very brief preview footage I saw — and believe me, it was brief; I went out of my way to avoid even watching the trailer — I had a pretty good idea who the “bad guy” was going to be. I had my suspicions, and everything in the movie was confirming them … until they weren’t. Having my expectations upended turned the rest of the movie into an unmoored terror ride, but it also turned my second viewing into a whole new experience. Certain characters who once had earned my suspicion now felt deeply sympathetic, even heartbreakingly sad. Meanwhile, other characters now have your side-eye much sooner, and that’s fun too!

Pay attention to the extras

Hereditary keeps an intense and close focus on the four-person nuclear family at its center, which helps give the film its claustrophobic edge. But it also means any non-family face that you encounter is probably important. Make a note of it.

Try to get into Annie’s head

This is probably the most daunting task, because Annie’s head is a fucked up place to be, under the best of circumstances. But particularly in second and third viewings, really listen to Annie’s perspective. Take in what she tells the support group about her family history. In a movie called Hereditary, family history is very important. Sympathizing with Annie is hard, and getting into her headspace is scary, but it’s also the best way to appreciate what Toni Collette is delivering in her performance.

Help the rest of us try to solve this nut debate

Okay. So Peter takes his little sister Charlie to the party, and we see a conspicuous series of shots of girls frosting a cake in the kitchen. They’re also, on that same kitchen island, chopping a metric ton of walnuts on a cutting board. Later, we see Charlie eat a piece of chocolate cake. Does what happens next happen because a) this was a German chocolate cake and thus it had nuts in it? Or b) the cake was cut with the knife that was used to chop all those walnuts? PLEASE WEIGH IN ON TWITTER AND @DECIDER!

Stream Hereditary on Prime Video