Consider the dozens of films about witches and the craft that have defiled our screens for decades, and you’ll find everything from the silly to the exploitative. But rarely do you find a film that not only portrays true-to-life witchcraft, but has clearly gone to pains to do so.
For Inherit the Witch, that meant using props and artefacts from real occult practitioners and having an entire coven as consultants. Combined, it offers some of the most recognisably real spells and craft in amongst the cloak-and-shadows schlock put to screen (certainly this far on the fringes of the mainstream). Its New Forest setting also soaks up the storied history of witches in the area, infusing some of that strange magic on screen.
Sadly, this definite cause for celebration is let down by almost every other facet of the film. It’s undermined at nearly every turn by poor editing — including an egregious over-reliance on split screen — shoddy camera work, a score that reaches for classic Dario Argento films but rarely aligns with what’s happening on screen and often provokes the opposite response, and am-dram acting all around save a few standout scenes from Christopher Sherwood and debut feature writer-director Cradeaux Alexander in the lead role. The rest of the cast are quickly forgotten except for producer Rohan Quine as Rex, a strongly trans-feminine coded character that never quite hits the mark.
All of the above could perhaps be forgiven for a compelling plot and consistent thematic through lines, but here’s where Inherit the Witch falls entirely flat. Alexander doesn’t draw nearly enough on his performing arts background, instead spending most of the runtime stood around talking or jogging from scene to scene. Although there are ample ways of reading the film’s messages — with conversion therapy, generational trauma, the price of privilege and more up for grabs — it seems afraid to commit to any, leaving the finished film awkward and confused. This narrative Gordian knot only ends up detracting from any power the shock ending might have otherwise had.
There are, however, a few rare moments when it all comes together for something approaching chilling, a glimpse at what might have been. A handful of dialogue exchanges linger in the mind (Sherwood’s monologue about talismans being a standout). And the total normalisation of queerness in a low-budget horror film, an avenue for so long where queer bodies are forfeit, is always a win.
If nothing else, the audacity to make Inherit the Witch is deserving of praise even if the finished results are severely lacking. For a debut feature in a crowded genre, there’s promise hinting towards something more accomplished further down the line. Not all spells are successful the first time they’re cast.
CAST
Cradeaux Alexander
Rohan Quine
Christopher Sherwood
DIRECTOR
Cradeaux Alexander
SCREENPLAY
Cradeaux Alexander
Aleksei Tolstoy
Hadrien Bouvier
US DIGITAL
24 September 2024
