Director: Vaughn Stein

Writer: Matthew Kennedy

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

Rating: ★★½

Inheritance is a fun little thriller that works as long as you don’t think about it too much. It’s easy watching and enjoyable, but far from memorable. After Archer Monroe (Patrick Warburton) suddenly dies of a mysterious heart attack, his daughter Lauren (Lily Collins) is left to solve the last mysteries of his life. Alongside one million dollars he also leaves her a USB stick with a video telling her where to find a secret. It leads her to a bunker, inside which is a man (Simon Pegg).

The premise of the film is really interesting. Who is the man in the bunker? You’re hooked almost straight away, wanting to know who he is and why he’s down there. It’s a great mystery that slowly unfolds throughout. It keeps a good pace and doesn’t ever feel like it’s dragging. Simon Pegg is really great, in a rare non-comedic role. He’s sinister and is the highlight of the film. Sadly, it does take a long time for him to really let loose, but once he does it’s great. If only there was more of it.  

The film starts to fall apart with how ridiculous everything is presented. Archer leaves her daughter the video, confessing a secret that he had hoped to deal with before his death, and is very vague about it. So when she meets the man, she doesn’t know why he’s down there. Pretty much everything in the film would be solved if he left a letter explaining it or didn’t tell her about it at all.

Lauren is an impeccably moral led character, as the district attorney, she follows a strict code of right and wrong, but doesn’t call the police when she finds the bunker. The film spends the opening ten minutes going to painstaking lengths to show you that Lauren has high values, only for them to disappear instantly.

Thankfully it all comes together in the end, with a good finale that doesn’t disappoint. There’s a few twists, even if they aren’t that surprising, and the film ends on a strong note. It’s a good time while it’s on. Overall, the film is never boring, always keeping your attention. It’s not amazing, and a lot of the plot falls apart the more you think about it, but it’s still entertaining to watch.  

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