Hereditary: parents' guide
Best for ages 17 and up. Rated R for horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and brief graphic nudity.
An extremely disturbing family horror film that is only for mature older teens, and many adults find it too much. After a grandmother's death, a family unravels through grief, guilt and an occult plot. A child dies suddenly and gruesomely early on, and the aftermath is shown in detail; later come burned and decapitated bodies, a self-decapitation, full-frontal nudity from cult members, frequent f-words, and a teen who smokes marijuana repeatedly. The family's grief and rage are as hard to watch as the supernatural horror.
What's in it
Violence
StrongGraphic and shocking: a child is decapitated in a car accident and the severed head is later shown covered in ants; a man burns to death; a woman saws off her own head; a girl cuts the head off a dead bird.
Language
StrongStrong: one guide counted about 20 f-words, another over 30 crude words, mostly f-words. Also s-words, 'retarded,' and a party song with the n-word and a vulgar word for female genitals.
Sex and nudity
StrongNo sex scenes, but naked cult members, male and female, appear several times in full-frontal shots, some in shadow, in the final act. A miniature diorama shows a bare breast.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongA teen smokes marijuana from a bong in several scenes and goes to a party with underage drinking. His parents take prescription pills under stress, and his father drinks scotch at work.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongRelentless dread and grotesque imagery: seances, possession, rotting corpses, sudden violent deaths, screaming family fights, and a mother's story of nearly setting her children on fire. The grief and blame after a child's death are intense.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Death of a parent
- Suicide
- Self-harm
- Animal death
Worth talking about
The family never really talks about its grief or its history of mental illness. Ask your teen how secrets and silence can hurt a family, and who they could turn to after a loss.
On our lists
Similar picks around 17+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.