Spoilers forHereditaryahead.
So, you've seen Hereditary. Need a hug from your mum?
Or perhaps you're already ready to ride the wave of motherhood and madness into another utterly messed-up film experience.
SEE ALSO:The traumatic family horror of 'Hereditary' scarred me for lifeOnce you've lost your head over Ari Aster's completely unsettling debut directorial effort and reveled in Toni Collette's brilliantly unhinged performance, scramble up into another cubby of satanic doom and hit play on one of these sinister family films.
The Babadook
Featuring the talented and consistently underrated Australian lead actress Essie Davis,The Babadookis director Jennifer Kent's masterpiece of motherhood and madness. As with Hereditary, you'll find themes of grief, family, and possession. There's also an exceptional performance by Davis as a troubled, exhausted mother who'll do anything to protect her family from demonic harm. If you watch just one Hereditarychaser in this list, make it this one.
The Witch
A family encountering forces of evil, possibly human, possibly not, within the property their home sits on? Hereditaryhas a friend in fellow A24 horror The Witch.Another directorial debut (seriously), Robert Eggers' film is a period horror featuring a Puritan family in New England, and its minimalist mood and sinister story arc will give you familiar chills.
Under the Shadow
If you're into unsettling muted sound, eerie framing, and maternal dread (we presume you are!), you'll love Under the Shadow. As if Shideh (Narges Rashidi) didn't have enough to deal with in the midst of the Iran-Iraq war, a casual Djinn — a malevolent Middle-Eastern spirit — drops by her family's Tehran apartment block. It's another incredibly mature debut feature, this one from director Babak Anvari, and it delivers some genuine scares.
Rosemary's Baby
A seemingly normal family slowly but surely find themselves swept up in malevolent witchcraft and neighbours who aren't what they seem. Sound familar? Roman Polanski's 1968 classic Rosemary's Babyshould be a mandatory stop post-Hereditary. A young couple wants to have their first child, but evil has a different family plan. Expect the same slow, threatening build, and one equally horrific climax.
Goodnight Mommy
Do we ever truly know our parents? The relationship between a mother and her children finds its way to a truly fucked-up place in both Hereditaryand the 2014 Austrian thriller Goodnight Mommy. Motherhood, suspicion, and cruelty are themes in both of these psychological nightmares.Twin boys Elias and Lukas seem as innocent as Charlie's tongue clicks — but they'll stay with you long after this violent, slow-burning film is over.
Paranormal Activity 3
Bear with us, but the third film in the Paranormal Activityseries makes a strange but thematically sound bedfellow with Hereditary. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman's found footage horror shares a few of Hereditary's suburban nightmare elements, including terrifying floating women in nightwear, with the same amount of budget-friendly, CGI-less effects. Beware your family history.
Sinister
This one starts with gruesome things in the attic as a work-at-home parent finds his family threatened by an evil spirit. 2012's Sinistershares more than a few things with Hereditary, and stars Ethan Hawke as a true crime author investigating and provoking disturbing family truths.
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
If you enjoyed the maddening suspense in Hereditary, director Oz Perkins' 2016 thriller will supercharge that anxiety. An elegant, atmospheric, gothic haunting,I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the Houseinvites you into a secluded old (read: haunted) house with a young nurse and an elderly horror novelist — and something else. The film boasts the same pace and stylish cinematography as Hereditary, with equally unbearable elongated silences. Stream this Netflix original with all the lights on.
Demon
If Hereditarytaught us anything, it's that happy families will never stay that way if demons have something to say about it. Late director Marcin Wrona's superb Polish film Demonsees a groom possessed in the middle of his own damn wedding. A psychological thriller critically compared to the work of Polanski, Demonis a stylish ghost story that plays on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk, a malicious possessing spirit. Sound familiar?
It Follows
If it's more subversive, real world horror you're after, hit up It Follows. While the teen horror narrative isn't close to that of Hereditary— an anthropomorphized STD ghost terrorizes a group of friends in the '80s — the clever pace, calculated use of silence, and the ability to establish a demonic threat in the generally safe daytime hours makes this one worthy of your time.
The Wailing
As offbeat and low-simmering as Hereditary, Na Hong-jin's 2016 South Korean horror film The Wailingis a solid complementary film, though the narrative is dissimilar. It follows a policeman investigating a village rampant with a mysterious disease linked to murderous rages. Less of a shock-riding horror and more of an atmospheric long game, this film will leave you with the same feeling of dread as Hereditary.
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