Rob Munday
Set in an isolated cabin in the woods, if you think you have a good idea of how horror short Inheritance will unfurl, prepare to have your expectations shattered. Although there are some evil looking spirits lurking on the periphery of Annalise Lockhart’s 14-minute short, the director avoids the usual jump scare tactics and instead opts for a sense of lingering dread, before wrapping her narrative with a ray of hope in the sci-fi twist at the film’s conclusion.
Having worked as assistant director on a number of notable short films, tv shows and features, Inheritance marks Lockhart’s directorial debut on a narrative short and it’s already evident she’s using her experiences in the industry to make the films she wants to make. Revealing, in this interview with Viddy Well, that her motivation to make this film came from a desire to “tell a story about a Black family fighting for their hard-earned home”, the filmmaker (who also wrote the script) was also looking to address “the ways stereotypes from the ‘real world’ can follow us into the ‘natural world'” in her narrative.
Inheritance is a brilliantly written short with so much packed into its lean 14-minute run-time. The three main characters, perfectly portrayed by Ron Brice, DeLeon Dallas and Victoria A. Villier all feel well-rounded, with a depth that makes them all important players in the narrative. The story never feels rushed and plays out a pace that always lets you consider exactly what you’re seeing on screen, yet there’s a complexity to the script that means you’re constantly surprised by what dwells around every corner. There are moments you feel like Inheritance could slip into conventional horror territory, but it cleverly avoids these pitfalls by blending genre storytelling elements with an emotive narrative core.
Victoria A. Villier as Norra in Inheritance
It’s not just the writing making Inheritance standout though, every element of production here feels like it’s working to immerse you in the world, but never let you completely settle. From that opening slow zoom into the window, Charlotte Hornsby’s (who also shot fellow S/W picks Lucia, Before and After, Hair Wolf, Kimchi and Real Talk) cinematography echoes the themes of the storyline and how the impact the ghosts have on this family comes from their haunting gaze, by making you feel physically present in the on-screen world. Mike Barnett’s subtle FX work also helps in this department, by keeping things low-key he makes the spectres of this storyline worryingly believable. While Evan Gitterman’s minimalist score and Chris Foster’s sound design feel vital in setting the film’s eerie atmosphere.
With its complex genre-hopping storyline, simply labelling Inheritance as a horror feels neglectful, but with its supernatural elements and ominous atmosphere this does feel like contemporary genre filmmaking at its most exciting. With Inheritance now live online so we can all enjoy its spooky scenario, Lockhart is building on the success of the short (the film won awards at Blackstar, Fantastic Fest and Palm Springs ShortFest), and the recognition she received as one of Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, by working on her debut feature, which is described as ‘a genre film that focuses on the relationship between a daughter and her dying mother’. Adding, in an interview with Outtake Magazine that ” it’s not a feature-length version of Inheritance, but it does deal with similar concepts”.