Heir of the Witch

Before we even begin watching it's worth noting that this is the first full-length feature in which Victoria U. Bell has starred, and the first that she has written or directed. Whatever else is true, I'm inclined to give some credit and a warm welcome on that basis. If the film is well-made and enjoyable then it speaks even more highly of her; if the film faces an uphill climb, then one can only extend best wishes, and hopes that the filmmaker develops her skills and impresses in the future. With this good will firmly in mind - I think Bell shows burgeoning capabilities as a filmmaker and storyteller, and I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. 'Heir of the witch' isn't bad, and I do kind of like it to a fair degree, but it bears a number of weaknesses that substantially weigh down the value it can claim.

Text at the beginning, providing background information crucial to the plot, did not need the redundant narration. I can appreciate that there was a wealth of information Bell wished to provide, and maybe there was no ideal way to communicate it, but the instance here is gawky and distracting. Occasional voiceovers to follow, of protagonist Anna expressing her inner thoughts, also seem a gauche touch, particularly since nuanced acting alone could convey the same thoughts; in the very least, any info that may have actually been important to impart in that manner could have been worked more naturally into dialogue. Many small moments are wholly superfluous, not least in the long first third of exposition, and the scene writing at large is rather forthright and tactless. Supporting characters are utterly vacuous, shallow, and unlikable - written that way on purpose, yes, but not only are they all painted with the same hues, but from one to the next it feels empty and excessive. The picture is also overproduced: the image is crisp and clear, the cinematography is splendid, and the computer-generated imagery is vivid if sometimes all too transparently false, but the sets and setting for each scene, the presentation generally, and even the score too often seem a bit sterile and hollow, bereft of real feeling or major detail.

The acting is mostly fine, though some instances are stronger than others. Weirdly enough, I think Bell is limited by her own screenplay, giving her relatively little opportunity as Anna to illustrate her skill as a performer (at least, that is, until the last third). Plot development initially comes off as slow and meager but later proves to be scattered and maybe lacking, with flashbacks mostly seeming both helpful (if incompletely) in communicating critical backstory, but inorganically inserted and disruptive to the active narrative. Even heading into the second half of the length we know almost nothing concrete about our protagonist except that the seamstress, an immigrant from Moldova, has had a difficult past, and is now haunted by apparent supernatural visitations and odd experiences - and as to the story into which Anna figures, well, these ninety-some minutes are over and it still feels less than fully satisfying. Case in point: there's a brutal murder, and a character who inexplicably has access to Anna's home, and even as all the bits and bobs seem to be escalating for Anna the story then skips ahead by eight months heading into the third act - and still only unhelpful fractions of the constituent story elements have had any quantifiable elucidation.

There is a definite element of horror here, violence and malice given prominence in fits and starts and mostly in the last third. With that said, I take no issue with the fact that 'Heir of the witch' presents as a horror-drama; it's a little less conventional of a tack, but perfectly suitable, and I've seen some terrific titles of just such a nature. But there are specific problems with Bell's approach to the material. We get distinct flavors of psychological drama, and psychological horror, as Anna is plagued by an increasingly distressed mental state, seeming manipulation, and the sheer strength of the powers with which she is cursed. This facet comes to bear in the very last several minutes as everything does get an explanation (more or less), including in fairness those parts of the first two-thirds that had me scratching my head. However, up until these very last minutes, what the movie is far and away - even with droplets of horror - is a domestic/romantic melodrama that wouldn't feel out of place as a TV movie on a network like Lifetime. In the last minutes that melodrama and the horror finally converge 100%, yet it doesn't actually feel like these specific revelations make the plot significantly clearer. Imagine, if you will, a jigsaw puzzle, with a complete image printed on the pieces. Now imagine some of those pieces are subsequently warped into a new shape, some are faded, some are shrunk, and some are enlarged. All the pieces are still there for a complete image, but they no longer fit together the way that they should. That's kind of what this film turns out to be when all is said and done.

I don't dislike 'Heir of the witch,' and I don't think it's bad. On the contrary, there's much to appreciate here, including stunts and practical effects, the more carefully cultivated instances of CGI, and the brutality of the horror at its best. I don't agree with all the choices made, but by and large those operating behind the scenes turned in fine work. Above all - again, not least for her first full-length feature - I think Bell does demonstrate her abilities as an actress, promise as a director, and commendable intelligence in her writing. That various issues are so pronounced at one time or another are unfortunate, but more so than not I believe this flick indicates solid craftsmanship and even more potential on the part of all involved, and Bell in particular. What it needed more than anything else was a more balanced narrative, weaving together the drama and the horror in equal measure throughout. It needed a more calculated and smooth if subtle arc for Anna, perhaps laying out more discreetly the progression that's thrown at us all at once in the last minutes, and with tiny kernels of incongruence more delicately handled than the parts we see that instead just completely feel out of place until the final reveal. It needed better establishment of Anna's background, and the driving impetus for the plot, than the few paragraphs of text that open and the sometimes vague flashbacks that more directly relate to Anna herself. It needed more emphatic if underhanded themes as an anchor, for the idea of cycles of violence is dallied with but not cohesively explored. With such tweaks in the writing the end result would have been drastically improved, to the point that other points of criticism - the need for more thoughtful consideration of production design and art direction, and more variation in supporting characters - could possibly just be forgiven outright.

Seeing as this was seemingly just released into the world one month ago, online, it surely hasn't had extensive viewership as of yet. I wouldn't be surprised if it evokes sharp and stringent responses lambasting the faults I've spotlighted and heaping even more vitriol upon it in other ways. I've watched too many pictures of the last several years, likewise given no theatrical release but simply a digital one, that bore many broad similarities to this, and that had the exact same experience (and many quite deservedly). That would be unfortunate, though, because I'm of the mind that 'Heir of the witch' earns and needs a more nuanced assessment. I see where there's room for improvement, but I also see what it does well; I can't begrudge those who more heavily dislike it, and I also understand how others might like it much more, and I'm glad for them. For my part I'm happy that I took the time to watch, and as Bell's first full-length movie I wish her nothing but the best for the developing aptitude it proves. Still, this is unwieldy as it presents, so any recommendation comes with an asterisk and a request for discussion.

I watched the vast majority of this movie just hating it. It seemed like the plot was was just barely going through the standard horror tropes. All the main characters are bland or unlikable. The main actress is playing a plain and overlooked woman, but she's the most radiant one there.

So far, those are pretty typical problems for a horror movie. But the absolute worst problem is the pacing. Everything plods along with very little rhyme or reason. We get largely useless flashbacks. There are several abrupt time jumps that, instead of being effective, feel like scenes were just missing. One gap is probably eight months long, with no forewarning. With one of the victims there's a scene where we think logically that she surely must have been killed, but shortly after we get another scene where she's still alive and not even addressing having gone through anything earlier, followed quickly by a suggestion that she just got killed for real that time, but no actual scene explaining any of it. I think you're supposed to guess, but at that point it doesn't seem to fit what we know.

Closer to the end than it had any reason to, the movie took a wild turn. There was a quick succession of deaths, and a major mystery was revealed that I never saw coming. A couple of scenes were revisited, with a quick suggestion that there were other important things going on. But it's already over, credits are rolling. This was the making of a great movie. But it doesn't really work to just stuff it at the end like that.

This script badly needed a rewrite to take care of the pacing. The first two thirds of the movie should have been the first third, maybe. We got some hints, but there could have been a few more, maybe some red herrings. Parts that do not contribute to the overall plot (and a few characters even) should have just been ripped out. We needed more time at the end, and we could have seen some of the repercussions of what happened. It doesn't even have to all be denouement, if it were parceled out better we could process each step and build suspense about what that one was going to mean before the next one hit. And the loose threads could have been addressed in a satisfying way. For example, at this point I don't know if an important character lived or died, based upon what we know at the end.

I hope I danced around the spoilers successfully. Even knowing that there is a spoiler can in itself be a kind of spoiler, but I mention it so you don't give up on this movie before it's over. At least one of the reviews said they bailed before it finished, which is a shame. Fast forward a little if you have to, but don't just turn it off.

Heir of the Witch is a horror thriller following a young woman that finds the family curse coming back to haunt her. She finds her quiet life turned upside down by temptation as her nightmares from her past increase.

This is a horror that dives into the idea of coming from a family that was branded a witch, generations before. It shows the increased burden placed on them in modern life. The story gets to play it out in a mix of soap opera drama and nightmares haunting the descendant. This gets to create good scares and ones that have a lasting scare factor in the nightmares experienced.

The movie has strong performances throughout the cast with writer, director and star Victoria U Bell's performance shining through. If you want a nightmare fuelled story, you will get one here.

Left a bit to be desired. Many transitions in the film were misplaced. The story structure of the movie is not apparent to the audience. The film lacks any direction. The movie is more about a mistress that lacks mental stability than it is a horror film. The performances come off as over exaggerated in a film that is not nearly serious or coherent enough as a film to be treated as such. As somebody who was at the first screaming I was remised to find audience members laughing at various beats of the movie. The film makers deserve credit for their hard work but the final product was below par.

What a roller coaster ride of twists and turns. What a great story, that leaves you with a queezy feeling of wanting more. Color and SPFX were on point for an independent film, it looks great. Special effects were well placed and not over done which helped with delivery and get their point across. The movie was well cast with an awesome performance by Victoria U. Bell. I really enjoyed the kill scenes as they were original and SCARY... Its a film where it may be a little hard to follow at first, but it all comes together in the end. There were breadcrumbs throughout the film, most of what you pick up on the 2nd time you watch it. I highly recommend this movie!