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Hereditary poster

Is Hereditary OK for Kids?

HorrorMysteryThriller
17+
R⭐ 7.3 / 102018 · 2h 8m
Ari Aster

Where to Watch

United States

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What's In It

Based on the actual screenplay
🗡️Violence
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Cartoon / Comedic
0
Action & Peril
2
Injuries & Death Shown
6
Graphic & Disturbing
  • Charlie's head is severed from her body in a car after a severe allergic reaction at a party, shown graphically
  • Peter discovers his mother's headless corpse in the attic, skin blackened and distended, in a disturbing reveal
  • Peter smashes his face repeatedly into his school desk, causing severe, visible injury
  • While sleepwalking, Annie attempts to burn Peter alive using matches and paint thinner
  • Annie decapitates herself with a box cutter, her head falling into the fireplace, and her body is later shown being sawed/dismembered by a possessed force
  • Peter sustains a neck wound during the final séance sequence
  • Overall tone is graphic and ritualistic, escalating from a single tragic accident to supernatural self-mutilation and dismemberment
💬Language
Moderate▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
15
Mild Words
(damn, hell)
5
Moderate
(ass, b**ch)
32
Strong
(sh*t)
0
Extreme
(f**k)
  • 'F**k/f**king' is used 24 times and 's**t' is used 8 times throughout the film
  • Moderate language includes 'da**' (2 times) and 'hell' (3 times)
  • Religious exclamations like 'God/Jesus' appear 15 times, often during moments of distress
  • No slurs are noted, but strong profanity is frequent and woven throughout dialogue
👻Scary Scenes
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Mildly Tense
1
Startling Moments
2
Genuinely Scary
5
Deeply Disturbing
  • Annie sleepwalks near her sleeping children while holding matches and paint thinner, an intensely disturbing sequence
  • A séance scene shows a glass moving on its own and an entity communicating through handwriting
  • Charlie's voice speaks from Annie's mouth during a séance, an unsettling possession moment
  • Peter sees Charlie's apparition in a corner of a room before Annie appears to attack him
  • The discovery of the mother's headless corpse with an occult symbol painted in blood
  • Possessed Peter exhibits demonic tongue-clicking and altered behavior throughout the film's back half
  • Multiple jump scares involve sudden apparitions and loud noises
  • The horror is never fully resolved; the finale reveals a ritualistic demonic possession cult plot rather than providing relief
💕Romance
Moderate▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Crushes & Holding Hands
1
Kissing & Dating
1
Suggestive
0
Sexual Content
  • Annie kisses Charlie goodnight before the party, a brief parental affection scene, not romantic
  • Steve and Annie's marital relationship is depicted as strained and emotionally distant
  • No kissing between romantic partners, sexual content, or nudity is depicted anywhere in the film
🍺Substances
Mild▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
1
Mentioned in Passing
2
Shown Casually
0
Featured Prominently
0
Glorified or Abused
  • Peter offers to smoke weed at a party with a friend, shown casually
  • Students at the party casually reference smoking and drug use in dialogue
  • There is a passing mention of the grandmother's mental health medications/treatment
  • Substance use is not glorified and is peripheral to the central horror plot
⚡Stimulation
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Gently Engaging
0
Exciting
2
Intense
2
Overwhelming
  • The final 30 minutes escalate rapidly with overwhelming supernatural horror and violence
  • Séance sequences build slow dread before intense manifestations occur
  • Peter's school breakdown and face-smashing scene is a hard-to-watch, intense moment
  • Annie's final attack on Peter, involving knocking sounds and attempted harm, is overwhelming in sensory intensity
  • Sensory-sensitive children or adults should avoid this film given abrupt tonal shifts and disturbing imagery
Hereditary — Heads Up for Parents

Despite being marketed as a slow-burn horror film, Hereditary contains an extremely graphic scene of Annie decapitating herself with a box cutter and her body being sawed apart afterward, which goes far beyond typical jump-scare horror and may be shocking even to horror-experienced viewers.

About Hereditary

Hereditary follows the Graham family as they unravel after the death of their secretive grandmother, only for a shocking accident to kill young Charlie and send the family into psychological and supernatural collapse. What begins as a grief drama slowly reveals occult and demonic possession elements, building to a disturbing, ritualistic finale. The tone is bleak, slow-building dread punctuated by moments of extreme graphic horror.

⚠️
Watch with your child
Given the graphic self-decapitation, corpse discovery, and demonic possession themes, older teens (17+) who watch should have a parent present to discuss the disturbing imagery and heavy themes of grief, mental illness, and occultism.

Family Takeaways from Hereditary

What it gets right

  • ✓The support group scenes portray real grief processing through community sharing and vulnerability
  • ✓Steve's comforting of Charlie about her grandmother's death offers a realistic, gentle way of normalizing a child's grief response

Hereditary Cultural & Values Guide

Cultural & Values Guide

Faith & Religion
●Religious mockery depicted

The film depicts Paimon worship and occult rituals that explicitly reject and invert traditional Christian symbolism. The demonic possession and satanic imagery present a sustained rejection of Christian faith throughout the narrative.

Cast:Toni ColletteAlex WolffGabriel ByrneMilly ShapiroAnn Dowd

Is Hereditary Appropriate for Your Child's Age?

✗Age 5: Not recommended for 5-year-olds
✗Age 8: Not recommended for 8-year-olds
✗Age 10: Not recommended for 10-year-olds
✗Age 12: Not recommended for 12-year-olds
✗Age 13: Not recommended for 13-year-olds
✗Age 15: Not recommended for 15-year-olds
✓Age 17: Generally appropriate for 17-year-olds

Individual children may vary — use your judgment.

Parents also ask about Hereditary

  • Is Hereditary appropriate for a 17-year-old?
  • Does Hereditary have violence?
  • Is Hereditary OK for kids?
  • What is the age rating for Hereditary?

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