The Inheritance (2024) Review – A Highly Predictable And Generic Hollywood Slasher

Welcome to Knockout Horror. When people talk about Hollywood horror, they are probably referring to movies with decent budgets, well-known casts and fairly generic plots. When I think of Hollywood horror I think about movies that take few risks. That’s where today’s movie The Inheritance comes in.

It’s a quintessential Hollywood horror

Featuring a fairly decent budget and some big-name cast members like Peyton List, Rachel Nichols and Bob Gunton. This feels like a movie with high production values and some money to splash about. Well, by horror standards anyway. Whether it is actually worth watching, or not, depends entirely on what you are looking for in a horror movie. And how tolerant you are of middle-of-the-road, take no chances, films.

Following the story of the Abernathy family. The Inheritance sees the family’s patriarch, Charles Abernathy (Bob Gunton), inviting his adult children back to their childhood mansion home to celebrate his 75th birthday.

The only catch is that he believes that his life is on the line. In fact, someone is coming to murder him at midnight tonight and he has a challenge for each of them. If they protect him and he survives, they will all be rich. If he dies, they are struck out of the will completely and will inherit nothing.

The movie plays out over the space of one night as the cast attempt to protect their father from the, as yet, unseen threat. The contrasting personalities clash and things quickly go from bad to worse. With the group splintering somewhat and finding themselves tasked with uncovering the truth behind what is happening.

Takes few chances

This is, pretty much, as generic as horror movies get. The Inheritance is one of those films you would feel quite comfortable putting on for a group of young teens at a sleepover. The scares are mild, there is limited gore, there isn’t much bad language. And the only sexuality is Briana Middleton’s top that seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to just how much cleavage is enough.

“The mansion plays suitable host to some milquetoast scares and members of the cast act as fitting ‘victims in waiting’ to help propel the movie along.”

Originally intended as a Netflix movie before production was cancelled AFTER completion. The Inheritance feels every part the “appeal to the masses” horror. The cast is about as formulaic as they come with Peyton List’s Cami tapping into the younger, influencer mad, crowd. Rachel Nichols’ Madeline and twin brother C.J (David Walton) are there to fill in the unlikable, sinister, spoiled brat roles. Austin Stowell’s Drew is the everyman good guy and Briana Middleton’s Hannah is the smart “main girl”. There’s really nothing too complicated here.

The mansion plays suitable host to some milquetoast scares and members of the cast act as fitting “victims in waiting” to help propel the movie along. There’s a slight hint of a mystery element at play in the story which is slowly unveiled as events escalate. But it’s nothing too deep. This is just horror with minimal risks. Naturally, this will appeal to some but it comes with its own set of problems.

It’s incredibly predictable

This is one of the more predictable horror movies I have watched in a while. It’s so formulaic that it falls victim to all of the tropes you may expect while following a blueprint that has been re-established a thousand times over. We start off with a bit of squabbling. Move on to a few false scares before getting to the real action. Characters stand in line like bowling pins waiting to be knocked down. You will see each of them coming and you will probably guess exactly how and when it will happen, too.

It’s just so predictable. There is an ass-load of exposition and characters frequently explain things that simply don’t need explaining. Characters are very two-dimensional and none of them ever seem to step outside of their well-defined archetype.

“Each of them is projected massively, well ahead of time. The Inheritance is a perfect example of horror by numbers.”

The predictability of the story has a significant impact on the scares, as well. They are just so obvious. Each of them is projected massively, well ahead of time. The Inheritance is a movie that gives you a cuddle before shouting “BOO!!” at the top of its voice and wondering why you didn’t flinch. This is a perfect example of horror by numbers. 

Decent acting but a terrible script

Acting is fairly decent. Briana Middleton stands out for her strong performance. She is extremely likeable, throughout. I really enjoyed Peyton List’s vapid influencer role, as well. It was fun to see Rachel Nichols, whom you may know from cat and mouse Christmas horror movie P2, again and she is solid.

“Briana Middleton stands out for her strong performance. She is extremely likeable, throughout.”

Bob Gunton is as fun as you would expect for a very experienced older actor deliberately chewing the scenery a bit. David Walton struggled throughout. Some of his line delivery is incredibly weak and, at times, he is beyond wooden. 

The script is awful. I’m really not sure whether this was written by a non-native English speaker but it sure feels that way. It is incredibly awkward at times while being laughable at others. Some of the special effects are pretty nice. There are a couple of interesting kills and one particularly nice call back to an earlier death later on in the movie that works really well. It’s quite a unique idea as far as horror kills go and I enjoyed it.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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