Inheritance

Starring: Lily Collins, Simon Pegg, Connie Nielsen, Chace Crawford, Patrick Warburton

Director: Vaughn Stein

DA Lauren Monroe (Lily Collins) finds her life turned upside down when her father Archer (Patrick Warburton) mysteriously dies. After she, her politically minded brother William (Chace Crawford), and their mother Catherine (Connie Nielsen) are read the contents of his will, Lauren learns of a second inheritance, an envelope containing a video and key. In the video, Archer says that as the eldest child, she is now the keeper of a secret, that is buried in the woods near her childhood fort, that she must carry to her grave. The secret is a mysterious Man (Simon Pegg) chained in an underground bunker. As Lauren probes the mysterious man for answers, her father's shady past is revealed. Lauren must decide how far down the rabbit hole of her fathers past she wants to travel and ultimately what to do with this family secret she has inherited.

This VOD feature starts off very promisingly with a solid hook for its central mystery. While one of the major twists is telegraphed pretty early, the relationship between Pegg's mystery man and Lauren kept me engaged as more and more is revealed. While nowhere nearly on this level (seriously don't come at me for this comparison), their relationship reminded me of Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs. Unfortunately, once all the cards are on the table, it starts to crumble in the final twenty minutes under the weight of some incredibly illogical plot holes. Don't think about it too hard after the credits roll because you'll keep finding more issues.

Director Vaughn Stein, a longtime AD, made his directorial debut with 2018's thriller Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Pegg. While that film was all style over substance (honestly not a knock on the film as I consider it and its twisted absurdity to be a hidden gem), he's working from a more character driven script for this follow up. His visual style is still present but he lets his characters do the heavy lifting. The film looks good and is well paced. Even with its plot issues, you won't be bored.

I still enjoyed the ride, despite the flaws, thanks to knockout performances from Pegg and Collins. They more than make up for the wasted casting of the supremely talented Connie Nielsen, who is literally given nothing to do. Their intense back and forth drives the mystery at hand and the intensity ratchets up considerably during their scenes because Pegg is so convincing and plays a wide range of emotions. Sporting a devilish American accent, this is a very against type performance. Even though the surrounding film isn't terribly memorable, Pegg still is, and I wouldn't blame anyone who checked it out just for his performance. Even though her character makes some questionable decisions, there is a lot of depth to Collins' character and it's very convincing to see her unravel as she investigates more.

Far from perfect, it does serve as an example of how having talented actors at your disposal can elevate a mediocre film.

Grade: C

Inheritance is available on VOD