The Heiress

Good example of not judging a book by its cover. This is actually a good little find. I rented this last night to watch with the wife who spent most of the film launching her popcorn and coke over my lap. Yes there's a few expected jumps but also a nice little creepy story to keep you engaged. Good to see an English haunting instead of the same old big American haunted house stuff that's rammed down our throats with CGI demons. The kid with the mask is freaky as hell, especially that scene in the bedroom with the radio.

Shame it's not available to buy on DVD in the UK but not a bad little film at all. Will probably watch again near Halloween

It's a movie which lacks. It has a distorted, jump on the bandwagon message and although the nightmare scenes are OK looking the whole piece is lacking chops in storytelling. The director appears to, as an actor done a tonne of equally cheap 'pound shop' brit gangster movies and it shows here.

With a brilliant central performance, The Heiress slowly builds its tension, taking its story in unexpected directions. Director Chris Bell is just as confident flipping genre tropes as he is utilising traditional scare tactics to keep the viewer firmly behind a pillow. The "person behind a closing door" scares are there, but they don't feel worn in the same way they do in other films as they are earnt through the ever thicker atmosphere the film churns up. The Heiress also faces up to the traditional Church vs Science fight shared by many other suburban horror films, but tackles it with a fresh approach that feels more grounded in reality. This juxtaposition is echoed throughout the film, a fight between the mundane and supernatural, be it parental bickering or vivid dreams. But the bottom line with a horror film is "does it scare?" Here The Heiress really delivers. It is one thing to make a decrepit mansion or a dark forest scary, but here the terror is in brightly lit fields and a detached new build.

Had high hopes for this but was extremely disappointed. Good cast but poor story and very little real action.save your time and money for something better.

There are some decent ideas here, but they're not developed enough. The acting is mixed, direction isn't great, nor is the cinematography. Of course the low budget puts limitations on the production, so I'm sure all concerned could do better, but more fully-developed ideas and a better script needn't have cost any more. The gorgeous and talented Candis Nergaard is a bit wasted here. It has its moments but ultimately isn't really satisfying.