The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Golden Brooks, Keith David, DB Woodside, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Rochelle Aytes
Five cousins are accompanied by friends to a cabin in rural Vermont, where they are to learn about an eagerly anticipated inheritance. But Uncle Melvin's (Keith David) welcome signals the beginning of a horrifying ordeal. One by one, the self-centered young people start to disappear, and soon, the survivors are battling an ancient spirit that demands they fulfill the vows of sacrifice made by their ancestors.
"The Inheritance" was a bit more than I expected, first was a sense of disappointed because if you go by the art-work on the DVD you might think this is a slasher film but it isn't and you would be wrong to think so. The film is more a character-driven supernatural horror flick that doesn't contain much in the way of blood and gore but it is very suspenseful at times and once the action kicks in the film takes on a very good pace that lasts till the very end. The film is about a group of distant cousins who think they are going to a family reunion which will be an opportunity to ask the elders for some much needed cash since they seem to have an abundance of it. When they arrive no one is there but there is a note from Uncle Melvin welcoming them and letting them know he left them some party treats. But after a night of booze and drugs they awake to the elders sitting next to their beds and banging on drums. They are told to get dress and come downstairs for the reunion but after gathering with the elders and hearing Melvin's story about a two-hundred-year-old witch doctor from Africa who survived slavery and uses the blood of generations to keep his powers alive they know they have become unwilling sacrifices and they must fight to stay alive. Now, for as disappointed or misleading the art-work was the film itself is something that I found to be much better than I expected. "The Inheritance' is a unique horror film in that it has an almost all black cast, something you hardly ever see today, on top of that the director decided to make the film a bit more character-driven instead of going for the all out shock treatment using loads of blood and guts. That was something that made the film a bit more original and entertaining in the long run. You pretty much get to know all the characters very well which allows for some invested interest in their well being later. For an Independent film I thought it had good productions values, this is a dark film but the scenes are well lit and very easy to see, you would have a hard time telling it was shot on a low budget. The filmmakers also did a terrific job at casting the film, they came up with a fantastic cast including, Keith David (They Live), D.B. Woodside (24: Season 6), Rochelle Aytes (Trick 'r Treat), and Novella Nelson (The Cotton Club), it is safe to say their wasn't a weak link in the film as far as acting goes and that goes for the leads as well as the supporting cast.
"The Inheritance" isn't a great film but it is an entertaining one that I highly recommend to fan's of genre that might be looking for something a bit different to watch. Not without it's flaws but the film has enough good things going for it to make it easy to over look the down sides. "The Inheritance is available on both DVD and Blu-ray neither has any extras other than the trailer. You can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE.
Released by Image Entertainment
*** Out Of *****