Family ties aren’t always the best thing, as seen in the 2018 film Hereditary. When the grandmother of the Graham family passes, her daughter and grandchildren unravel cryptic and terrifying secrets about their ancestry and the terrible fate they’ve inherited. If you’re looking for more family-oriented horror or the crumbling of relationships between people, then watch these six best scary movies like Hereditary.
6. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
While Hereditary had a family member leave this world, The Killing of a Sacred Deer introduces a new member at a horrible cost to the original family. Dr. Steven Murphy takes care of his wife and two children while being a renowned cardiovascular surgeon. When fatherless teen Martin enters Murphy’s world, the surgeon takes the child under his wing, unaware of his intentions. When Martin’s true intent becomes clear, a long-forgotten transgression will threaten to shatter Murphy’s life forever.
–IMDb score: 7.0
5. Midsommar (2019)
A couple’s fragile relationship will be put to the test in A24’s Midsommar. Dani and Christian are an American couple on the brink of splitting, but when a family tragedy keeps them together, Christian invites grieving Dani to join him on a trip to a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree holiday quickly turns sour when the villagers make their guests partake in disturbing festivities.
Though it doesn’t have a matriarch character, Midsommar is sure to test the boundaries of relationships and reveal a darker power at work.
–IMDb score: 7.1
4. Don’t Look Now (1973)
The dead and the living mingle in Hereditary and appear together in our fourth selection Don’t Look Now. John and Laura Baxter are in Venice grieving their daughter when they meet elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic. She insists that she can see the spirit of the Baxter’s daughter who drowned, but John resists the idea. As the film goes on, John begins to get his own psychic flashes, and the sister’s warning becomes increasingly real.
–IMDb score: 7.1
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3. The Wailing (2016)
Even though the stranger in The Wailing is not a family member, they still wreak havoc in a small village in Japan. Once the stranger appears, a mysterious sickness spreads through the townspeople along with several deaths. Mass hysteria ensues, with a policeman trying to unravel the mystery and save his daughter caught in the center of it.
–IMDb score: 7.4
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2. Carrie (1976)
One of the most famous horror films with a “supernatural” main character is Stephen King’s Carrie. Based on the bestselling novel, Carrie is a withdrawn teen who faces taunting from her fellow students by day and abuse from her pious mother at night. As she realizes she may have supernatural powers, Carrie is invited to prom, but instead of a wonderful night, a series of unfortunate events leads the night to end violently.
–IMDb score: 7.4
1. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Our last film ends on family, but unlike Hereditary, a young wife Rosemary and husband Guy are introducing a human into the world instead of taking one away in Rosemary’s Baby. Moving into a New York City apartment, the couple encounters peculiar neighbors Roman and Minnie. When Rosemary becomes pregnant with the couple’s first child she becomes increasingly isolated, and only after Rosemary gives birth does the horrible truth surface.
–IMDb score: 8.0
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