INHERIT THE WITCH Review

Inherit The Witch will be available on Digital Download in the US from 24th September. In 1984 a family throws a 14th-birthday party. 30 years later they re-unite at two isolated houses in a forest where horrific truths are uncovered about the family’s occult pact with an ancient evil that’s enabled their wealth and power.

Outside of Robert Eggers' The VVitch, I haven't seen too many witchcraft-based horror movies of which I have been a particularly big fan. And even The VVitch is basically just that in name alone. It's not really about too much in the way of the craft of witches. I'm not sure what it is about the sub-genre that doesn't typically do it for me. I would say that these flicks are usually too serious, but serious horror can obviously be extremely good. Maybe serious isn't the right word. Most witch movies are joyless, perhaps.

I got another shot at witch based cinema with Inherit The Witch, a new streaming movie option to enjoy. It tells the tale of a wealthy, well-known family and exactly how they came to be that way. The story alternates between the 14th birthday of a pair of twins (Corey and Jessie) and the present day when the family's patriarch has passed away and one of those twins (Corey) is dealing with his family in the aftermath of that. As both stories progress, we see how the past has shaped the present, and exactly what happened that fateful day of Corey's childhood. It is also a serious movie, let's just go ahead and say that. I guess it's hard to add humor to witch movies, I don't know! But there's nothing wrong with that. But aside from its tone, what can I say about it? Well, let's check the Ups and Downs!

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ To start us right off on the Ups, we have that Inherit The Witch has an unraveling, slowly meted out story that will really keep you guessing as to what is actually going on.

The story bounces back and forth between the past and the present, and a lot of what you are seeing for the first forty or fifty minutes doesn't make the most sense. But if you are patient, everything does end up coming together and you get a complete and coherent story.

I'll be honest: it's a rough ride for a while, and at times it feels like nothing is going to coalesce. But it does happen, so if you are watching, just let the movie take you where it's going.

+ The acting in this one isn't phenomenal or anything, but it is decent enough to carry the story. Cradeaux Alexander is the writer/director, and he is also the star of the movie. When I saw that the head filmmaker was also the lead actor, I was admittedly very nervous, but Alexander is perfectly fine, it turns out.

Heather Cairns and Christopher Sherwood play Fiona and Lars respectively, and they are also solid in their roles, with Cairns in particular displaying a range of emotions and characterization in her scenes.

- An odd complaint to start with, but definitely one to bring up because it was wildly distracting: the score across Inherit The Witch is downright goofy. It feels like it was imported from another movie, a horror-comedy, honestly. And like I said... this is a serious movie.

And as you are watching this serious movie with a mystery at its heart and a slow-burn story, you are also bombarded with a silly soundtrack full of bloops and bleeps. It's completely counter to what you are seeing on the screen. I have no idea how Alexander signed off on this score from his music team.

- As I said, the story does end up coming altogether in this one, and that is nice, but as you approach the end up of this flick, it starts doling out a repeated stretch of twists and turns. It's one thing to have some secrets and big moments for the viewers, but after a bit of a convoluted tale, it feels like there are changes in direction just to have them.

It all just gets to be a bit much. It starts too slow, then crams too much into the resolution.

OVERALL

Ultimately, Inherit The Witch is a bit of a slog with a whacky, out-of-place score, some amateurish editing, and a story that just takes too long to get going. It saves itself with a third act where the disparate elements coalesce a bit, but by the time that started, I just didn't have a lot of passion left for what was going on.

🍿 SCORE = 22 / 100