Hereditary: Highlights and Symbolism Spoilers

The film is filled with metaphors, symbols, and hints, some involving religious stories that I don't fully understand, and I hope to learn and exchange ideas with everyone. For the sake of brevity, I'll use terms like grandmother, mother, sister, brother, husband, cult priestess, and mother's brother instead of their titles.

Symbolism of Decapitation

The theme of decapitation appears multiple times in the film: the sister decapitates the pigeon, the sister loses her head in an accident, the grandmother's headless corpse and the mother attempts to saw off her own head when she dies. Many reviews suggest that the sister decapitating the pigeon foreshadows her own fate of decapitation, but it's not that straightforward. Before decapitating the pigeon, there's a scene where the sister is playing with a toy in her classroom. The toy, along with the pigeon's head, is later crafted into a doll by the sister.

This pigeon-head doll makes a second appearance in the cult priestess's home. The doll is on the right, with three heads in front (though it's unclear what animals they belong to), and on the left are three headless bodies bowing to the pigeon head doll. This imagery corresponds to the final scene of the film, where Paimon completes the possession ritual. The headless corpses of the grandmother and mother bow to the doll holding the sister's head. The pigeon's head symbolizes the sister's head. In other words, since the grandmother's death, the sister has been planning a ritual to take possession of the brother's body. It can be speculated that the grandmother and Paimon made a pact to seek a male body to help Paimon possess and gain insight into the world. The pact only works within the bloodline, meaning the grandmother had to offer her male descendants to fulfill the pact. Therefore, the grandmother married and had a son and a daughter, all in preparation for this ritual. Regarding the mother's family and upbringing, we know that (1) the grandfather had schizophrenia and starved himself to death early (as revealed in the support group confession); (2) the grandmother strongly desired a son for the mother (mentioned when calming the sister to sleep); (3) the mother's brother committed suicide because the mother wanted to put another soul into his body (as confessed in the support group).

Regarding (1), the grandfather's death is likely intentional. To marry the grandmother and have a son, the grandfather was obstructing the sacrifice process and was consequently locked up to starve to death.

Regarding (2), since the sacrifice required a male body as a vessel, the grandmother hoped for a son. However, the mother was born, so she was treated as a boy and cared for in that manner until the birth of her brother.

Regarding (3), initially, the grandmother intended to sacrifice her son to Paimon, but he committed suicide. Consequently, the grandmother had to place her hopes on the child born to her daughter.

Symbolism of Clicking Sounds

The repeated clicking sounds in the movie undoubtedly contribute significantly to the atmosphere. As mentioned in many reviews, the name Paimon, in the Mesopotamian language, describes a kind of "drip-drip" or "ting-ting" sound, resembling the clicking sound. Therefore, the frequent appearance of clicking sounds in the film may hint at Paimon's identity. After the grandmother's funeral, the sister hears clicking sounds and sees a blue light in her room. When the sister reappears, she is the one making the clicking sounds. Does this imply that after the grandmother's death, Paimon, having lost a physical form, has possessed the sister? (The sister making the pigeon head doll conveniently happens after the possession, suggesting that such behaviors are instructions from Paimon to the followers.) After the sister's death, the mother also hears clicking sounds in the car. This indicates that after the possessed body dies, Paimon manifests as a blue light and clicking sounds. Finally, the brother jumps off the building, the blue light disappears from him, and as he stands up, he emits the first clicking sound. This neatly illustrates the successful possession of Paimon.

Symbolism of Blue Light

Blue light appears multiple times in the film, and the author believes it represents the manifestation of Paimon's presence. After the sister's death, the blue light constantly follows the brother, signifying that Paimon is patiently waiting for the right moment to possess him.

Symbolism of the Treehouse

The treehouse, as the place for the final sacrificial possession, is subtly present throughout the film. Two details are noteworthy: (1) On the morning of the funeral, the husband is angry to find the sister sleeping in the treehouse, claiming it's cold and she might get pneumonia; after the sister's death, the mother also spends a night in the treehouse but with two infrared heaters. (2) From the brother's room window, the lights of the treehouse are visible, and the color of the light in the treehouse changes.

Regarding (1), the fact that the sister can sleep in the cold treehouse suggests she might already be possessed.

Regarding (2), the light reflected by the tree house is different, red and yellow. If red means that the mother is sleeping in the treehouse, does yellow mean that the cultists are gathering in the treehouse?

Mother's Identity - A Cultist with Shaken Faith

Growing up alongside her grandmother, it's nearly impossible for the mother to be completely ignorant of her grandmother's beliefs. Judging from the symbolic necklace she wears at the funeral, it can be speculated that she might have been a believer all along. However, because of becoming a mother, her faith underwent a period of doubt. When she was pregnant, she knew that her son was destined to be offered as a vessel for Paimon. Out of maternal instinct, she wanted to spare her son from this fate, leading her to choose abortion. Failing in this attempt, she could only distance herself and her son from grandmother to prevent her son from being sacrificed. This is subtly hinted at during the farewell scene between the mother and her husband in the latter part of the movie.

Why did the mother give her daughter to the grandmother? The author speculates that the mother believed Paimon needed a male vessel for possession, making the daughter safe, and thus she entrusted her to the grandmother.

The character of the mother has consistently oscillated between "maternal instinct" and "Paimon faith." Out of maternal instinct, she chose to protect her children, but due to religious beliefs, she had to assist in the sacrificial process itself. For instance, many reviews mention that it was because of the mother forcing the sister to attend the gathering that the car accident occurred. The accident and the sister's death were designed to break the psychological defenses of the brother, making it easier for Paimon to possess him.

Upon discovering the truth, the mother seeks to save her son by sacrificing herself, leading to the scene where she allows her husband to burn the sketchbook. When the sketchbook is thrown into the fire and the husband is burned alive, the mother realizes that the fate of her son being offered to Paimon is inevitable, and she can only choose to submit to her faith.