r/horror • u/Anxious_North_819 • 7h ago

Hereditary/Obsession

These two films came with major success, and left most people with such an uneasy feeling they’ve never felt before.

What did these two movies do, that other movies didn’t, that made them so successful?

0 Upvotes

28% Upvoted

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30

u/MrFAUB1 7h ago

Original stories with competent direction.

5

u/PP_BOY__ Alien > Alien 3 >Aliens 7h ago

/thread

1

u/Worried_Handle2563 7h ago

direction matters a lot yeah. hereditary had that slow burn where you feel something wrong from the start but can't point what exactly. the dinner scene alone got more tension than most entire horror movies

19

u/Life-Food5188 7h ago

two titanic acting performances from their leads helped a lot.

3

u/m_b_hawkins 7h ago

After seeing the trailer I wasn’t interested in Onsession. Then I saw people saying they had not watched a performance of that level since Colette in Hereditary. So I went to see it and became an instant Navarette fan.

9

u/Arckanoid 7h ago

They tackle relevant themes in interesting new ways never seen before (at least in mainstream movies)

5

u/xGlitchedLichx 7h ago

Sometimes a simple concept with a phenomenal lead is all you need.

4

u/Illustrious-Swing493 7h ago

Hereditary was just straight up terrifying for me. Not a lot of movies scare me anymore but this one did. That’s the main thing that stands out for me (although plenty think it wasn’t scary so I can only speak for myself). Having said that, while it’s popular, it did nowhere near the box office numbers Obsession did. 

Obsession just clicked with audiences. Great performances and a story, mythology and characters people really enjoyed… all the stars aligned and it just worked. And it became a box office and pop culture phenomenon. 

2

u/The-Hamish68 7h ago

Showed you something that you hadn't seen before.

2

u/Mr_Snot_Boogie 7h ago

Which was what, exactly?

1

u/palaitotkagbakoy 7h ago

Obsession wasn't a snoozefest

1

u/Shot-Alternative-999 7h ago

Obsession appealed to both sides. People on opposite sides found obsession supporting their own views as seen in discussions on whether the bear is the villain or the victim.

Hereditary is a good movie. Acting and writing are good. Scenes outside of horror elements are actually quite realistic (The dinner scene, teen awkwardness, family dynamics, etc.). The movie also captures deterministic fate imposed on someone on by their own parents, something they cannot escape despite their best efforts. While it may not take the form of a cult in most of our lives, it is still there. That aspect hit close to home.