‘Inheritance’: A Twisty Thriller Undermined by Its Own Inconsistencies

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Jan 22

**Daniel Mitchell/Vertical Entertainment**

A Thriller With Potential, Finally Unearthed After Five Years later:

**A gripping premise and eerie atmosphere can’t save Inheritance from its convoluted script.**

A movie with a don’t-think-too-hard-about-this premise can work if it sustains its own logic. It doesn’t have to hold together in our world as long as it holds together in theirs. Unfortunately, Inheritance, which originally premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and has only now secured theatrical distribution, struggles to maintain even the illusion of plausibility. The film’s belated release comes with a narrative so riddled with plot holes that it feels like a recut version of an earlier, more cohesive story. Still, its nutty premise, lavish settings, and moments of tense confrontation make it just engaging enough to warrant its limited theatrical run.

The story begins with the sudden death of Archer Monroe (Patrick Warburton), a wealthy and powerful patriarch whose demise reveals a tangled web of family dynamics and buried secrets. At the reading of his will, his son William (Chase Crawford), a Congressman running for re-election, inherits $20 million. In stark contrast, his daughter Lauren (Lily Collins), a New York District Attorney known for prosecuting high-profile Wall Street criminals, is left only $1 million—a decision reflecting Archer’s disdain for her chosen career path.

Lauren, stoic and composed, claims to be unbothered by her father’s slight. But everything changes when the family lawyer (Michael Beach) hands her a mysterious envelope containing a key and a thumb drive. Archer’s video message is uncharacteristically apologetic, urging her to use the key to uncover and contain a dangerous secret.

What Lauren discovers in a hidden underground bunker on the family estate is the film’s most shocking twist: a disheveled man named Morgan Warner (Simon Pegg), shackled and imprisoned. Morgan promises answers in exchange for indulgent meals, including steak and key lime pie—a bizarre request that becomes a curious motif in the story. Through Morgan’s revelations, Lauren is forced to confront her father’s dark past and the moral dilemmas of her family’s legacy.

When Inheritance premiered at Tribeca in 2020, its intriguing premise and high-profile cast drew attention. However, the film struggled to find a distributor in the years that followed, with its release delayed by both the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shifts in the film industry. Now, five years later, the movie finally arrives in theaters for a limited run.

The long delay may explain some of the film’s structural inconsistencies, as it feels like a project retooled over time without fully regaining its narrative cohesion. Key moments that should carry emotional weight feel rushed, while other scenes linger unnecessarily, disrupting the pacing.

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Lily Collins delivers a capable performance as Lauren, but the character’s erratic development leaves her struggling to maintain credibility. One moment, Lauren is portrayed as a ruthless, calculating prosecutor; the next, she is hesitant and unsure, undermining the story’s central tension.

Simon Pegg steps outside his comedic comfort zone to play Morgan, embracing the role’s eccentricities with gusto. Yet, the script fails to fully explore his character’s complexity, leaving him more of a plot device than a fully realized figure.

The supporting cast, including Chase Crawford as Lauren’s ambitious brother and Connie Nielsen as her grief-stricken mother, is underutilized, offering only glimpses of the strained family dynamics that could have enriched the story.

Visually, Inheritance leans heavily on its opulent settings and shadowy cinematography to create an air of mystery. While this aesthetic polish lends the film a sense of foreboding, it can’t compensate for the gaps in logic and character development.

The film’s central metaphor—a chess analogy delivered by Archer in a flashback—promises a layered exploration of strategy, foresight, and consequence. But the narrative fails to deliver on this promise, instead relying on surface-level twists that strain credibility.

Despite its flaws, Inheritance offers moments of intrigue and tension that may appeal to fans of melodramatic thrillers. Its long road from Tribeca to theaters may have dulled its initial impact, but the film still manages to entertain, if not fully satisfy.

As it finally gets its time in the spotlight, Inheritance serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by mid-budget thrillers in today’s market—and the importance of a strong, cohesive script to carry even the most intriguing premise.