Friday Flicks: ‘Hereditary’, ‘Hearts Beat Loud’, ‘Nancy’
Bejesus, what a week we’ve had. The landmark sexual misconduct trial of Harvey Weinstein has begun, with the disgraced movie mogul pleading not guilty to a number of rape and criminal sex act charges. Yikes! As it stands, Weinstein remains free on bail while he awaits the followup trial and is scheduled to return to court on September 20. Keep your eyes peeled for the verdict this fall.
On a lighter note, although you might feel you’ve only just recovered from Oscar fever, it’s now TV’s turn, as the 2018 Emmys race has officially commenced. Although it’s a little premature – nominees will be announced July 12 and the 70th Primetime Emmys are set for September 17 – discussions on predictions are already heating up. IndieWire named The Handmaid’s Tale & Game of Thrones as potential head-to-heads and forecasted Veep as out of the running of the comedy category following three straight wins. Of course, this is just speculation – there’s still plenty of time to ponder the nominees and make your pitch for David Lynch as FBI deputy director Gordon Cole in Twin Peaks: The Return. Let’s make this happen!
While we’re on the topic of TV, there have been a fair few season renewals this week, most recently S3 of Donald Glover’s surreal comedy Atlanta. Hip, hip, hooray! We’re also stoked Netflix took the decision this week to renew 13 Reasons Why for another round – even if it’s not your beat, it deserves praise for unabashedly levelling with its teen audience and covering some of the most significant issues facing young adults today.
But anyway, enough about weighty trials and Emmy predictions and TV renewals. We’re here for one thing and one thing only – FD’s picks of the best films to catch this weekend.
Hereditary (A24 Films)
Originally released June 2018 on wide theatrical release, Ari Aster’s feature debut established him as a major horror voice and remains one of the studio’s defining titles. Toni Collette delivers a tour-de-force performance as the unraveling mother whose family begins to fracture after the death of the Graham matriarch.
When the family’s secretive grandmother passes away, her daughter Annie and her children discover cryptic, increasingly terrifying clues about their lineage. The story transforms a private grief into something far more sinister, forcing the survivors to confront a fate that feels both inherited and inescapable. The film’s ambiguous and terrifying exploration of inherited trauma has cemented its status as a horror classic.
Legacy and Critical Reappraisal
Eight years later the film sits at number 83 on Rolling Stone’s 2025 list of the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. It also ranks number 10 on The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 survey of the 25 Best Horror Movies of the 21st Century. Critics routinely credit Hereditary with sharpening the so-called elevated horror movement and with reframing family trauma as viable source material for mainstream genre storytelling.
Prequel Developments
In a June 2026 Q&A at the American Cinematheque, Ari Aster confirmed he has finished a complete prequel script that expands the film’s cosmology. He described the project explicitly as a prequel rather than a sequel and added that it never feels like the right time to produce it. The remarks have renewed interest in whether the Graham family’s story will ever reach the screen again.
Where to Watch in 2026
Viewers looking to revisit the film can currently stream it on Max. Digital purchase or rental remains available on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and comparable platforms. No major free ad-supported services have reported wide availability at this time.
Box Office and Industry Impact
Hereditary ultimately grossed roughly eighty million dollars worldwide. For several years it stood as A24’s highest-grossing release, and its opening weekend remained the distributor’s strongest until Civil War in 2024. Those numbers helped shift industry expectations for what an art-house horror title could achieve at the multiplex.
Toni Collette's Performance Legacy
Collette’s work continues to anchor most conversations about the movie. She received Gotham Award recognition and drew near-universal praise for the intensity and precision of her breakdown scenes. The performance is still frequently cited in roundups of awards-season oversights, underscoring how rare it remains for horror leads to receive equivalent attention from the major ceremonies.
Whether you are returning for the first time since 2018 or catching up with the film’s growing reputation, Hereditary continues to reward close attention. Its blend of domestic dread and occult inevitability keeps pulling new viewers into its unsettling orbit, and the recent updates only deepen its place in the modern horror canon.
