Inheritance

Kristensen weaves an intriguing and visually polished tale through Inheritance. An extremely well done thriller with touches of Kubrick, Hitchcock, and Kristensen's own unique style. The film's tension is very well done, as it builds with a sure pace that keeps the viewer engaged. The characters, especially Taylor's eager-to-please Abbey, draw the audience in as the story progresses and the tension builds. It's very unique and very fun; certainly a great change of pace from the norm. Excellent performances by Taylor (the voice of Halo's Cortana) and Nelson. Inheritance is a breath of fresh air in a market glutted with cookie-cutter suspense thrillers; a very well done, very enjoyable film. Kristensen and Taylor are talents to watch.

It has truly been a while since a movie has stuck with me this long. INHERITANCE peels away at the layers of fear and rubs your nerve endings raw until all you are left with is the fear itself. This movie haunts you long after the standard "scary" film would have vanished from your psyche. It can be likened to an addict with two persona's. One persona is lively and full of worth, yet the second persona is lingering somewhere between a death wish, and the kind of hangover that makes you wake up in a cold sweat wondering what in the hell you might have done the night before. If you loved "The Shining", do yourself a favor and fall in love with Inheritance.

Mrs. Lillian Baker (Nelson) is a dynamic, but elderly woman who has to resort to having a caretaker, a young woman named Abby (Taylor), to help her get around. It seems clear that the bitter woman is close to death but seems to have something up her sleeve. After passing away, Abby soon discovers that the spirit of Mrs. Baker has taken up residence in her own body. The two souls battle for the one body in this mildly effective independent film. Director and co-writer Kris Kristensen does not set out to make a shock and gore show, but instead uses subtle tension and psychological scares to fill his movie. The performances are good, especially from Marjorie Nelson as Mrs. Baker. We really feel her frustration at being old and the flashes of menace do supply some chills. Fans of subtle character driven horror will enjoy this with a fun twist at the end. If you are looking for jumps, shocks or searing horror, then look elsewhere.

The copy I screened was packaged nicely. I admit that 3/4 of the way through it I almost shut it off. But bad movies get made all the time. This isn't the unusual thing about this DVD. Upon reading the reviews here at IMDb, I'm convinced that most of the reviewers had to be in the filmmaker's camp. There is no other way to explain someone actually saying "this is a great film." The story, directing and acting are all mediocre at best. But how they got the lead is really a mystery. Her full frontal sex scene is somehow more embarrassing when you start thinking how they talked her into it. Did she think this was going to be a critical success, a breakthrough role for her? I don't know. After a little research I discovered that the producer and director are the team that created the wonderful short film "Whiteface." How they made a picture like this is a good question indeed. Now, I did visit the website. This is where things get even more bizarre. They started a petition to try to get the film distributed into theaters. They somehow reasoned (according to the website) that the lead's previous voice work for the xbox game "Halo" would somehow be a box office draw.

Brilliantly chilling. Beautifully shot. Artfully subtle. INHERITANCE is a great film. I've seen about a dozen indy/low budget films at festivals over the past five years and I don't like indy films in general, but this is one of two I have been surprised by and liked. Once it gets moving it's a very enjoyable cinematic ride. The story is great and well told. The film is sort of a noirish mystery/ghost story with a really great psychological undercurrent. A number of scenes had me practically vibrating in my seat with chills. The gorgeous palette and sets really added to the story as does a wonderful soundtrack with a couple of original songs by Robyn Hitchcock. I bet Twilight Zone and Buffy fans will really like it.