Inherit The Witch

The occult rituals are a treat to watch even if they have somewhat reminisced about Hammer Studios’ work in To The Devil A Daughter and even the British exploitation film Virgin Witch.  One well-managed sequence is the sacrifice of fourteen-year-old Jesse, who doesn’t look that age on an altar while her parents eagerly watch.   Jesse is murdered in front of her family, reminiscent of The Satanic Rites of  Dracula with basic practical effects minus nudity.

The rituals are not like those in most occult theme films, likely due to the technical advisors listed in the credits. However, one must remember that they are producing films for entertainment.  The subplot of resurrecting ‘mother’ through a series of murders to run the coven seems like it attached a story of the horror of conversion therapy, gay relationships, generational trauma, and the price of privilege; hence, the film comes close to being a lovely stage two-hander in some moments when the speeches become long or emotional.

“…an interesting exercise in a domestic drama with a tacked-on occult secret.”

Film-wise, Inherit the Witch has odd moments of framing, perhaps trying to go for the Giallo feel at night along with the soundtrack.  The picture seems more at home with the two actors in a tense manner of revelation or exposing emotion about the past than in promoting chills and atmosphere.  The Witches in the coven scenes seem stilted and ready to launch in explosive, taking the space performances yet are thankfully held back because this is film, not theatre, where you must reach the back row.

Inherit the Witch is an interesting exercise in a domestic drama with a tacked-on occult secret, much like an episode of the original classic TV series Dark Shadows.    Filled with isolated moments of revelation and acting chops, particularly from Christopher Sherwood and Cradeaux Alexander as lovers and fighters with honourable Heather Cairns as Fiona, who gives it her all in performance not out of place in the British TV series Father Brown.   It is a shame that the role of Rohan Quine as Rex, a satanic helper who looks like a young Laurence Luckinbill with longer hair from the original The Boys in the Band, was not developed more.    The film hints at what could have been, yet I’m not quite sure if it’s a battle of relationships or a dark story of an evil generation.