In Alejandro Brugués’s thriller The Inheritance (2024), a wealthy family’s reunion takes a dark turn. On his 75th birthday, family patriarch Charles Abernathy drops a shocking announcement: his kids will only get their inheritance if they can keep him alive until sunrise. Fearing someone’s out to kill one of the richest men in the country, the siblings—and their younger brother’s outsider wife, Hannah—scramble to protect him. But as the night goes on, secrets start coming to light, and things aren’t as they seem. Can the Abernathy family figure out the truth and save their father before it’s too late?
Spoilers Ahead
The Inheritance (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“The Inheritance” opens with Charles Jr., Madeline, Cami, and Drew, all four children of Charles Abernathy, arriving at the estate to respond to their father’s call. Drew brings his wife, Hannah, although the invitation strictly mentions ‘bloodline only.’ Hannah is not much liked by Chales Jr. and Madeline. Moreover, since they both take care of the business, they think less of everyone, including Cami and Drew.
Hannah is not even from their bloodline, so it is very tough to be a favorite for Hannah in front of the siblings. Cami, however, being the youngest, is sort of a social media influencer. She has no problem associating with Hannah. The butler of the house, Miles, invites everyone inside the house as he tells them that Charles will see them in a while. The urgency of this meeting is yet unknown to the siblings.
What do the Siblings learn from Charles Abernathy?
When the children finally meet with their father, Charles is surprised to see Hannah there. He requests that she leave the premises for her own safety. This sounds a bit absurd to Hannah. But she decides to stay anyway because she feels like a member of the family, as she has married Drew. Seeing Drew also supporting her stand, Charles moves on to the most important thing on his agenda: the announcement.
Charles tells his children that if he dies tonight, no one will have their inheritance. However, if the children manage to protect his father from dying, they will be handed over billions of dollars the following day. Charles Jr. thinks that his father is worried about some assassination attempt on him. But later, he sees him asking Miles to lock all the doors and ask all the security to go away. The children do not understand the meaning of this because if there is indeed a threat, why would anyone ask the security to leave?
But this is what it is, and Charles remains silent about the reason behind doing any of this. The siblings gather. They think this must be some kind of trick their father is playing to fool them. Apart from Hannah and Drew, no one has any interest in this whole scenario. Hannah thinks they should take the remaining hours of the night more seriously than hanging around the house. Despite taking the necessary steps, the siblings start fighting with each other while Hannah tries to stop them and remind them what is at stake.
When Happens to the Female Siblings?
Later that night, when Cami goes to the wine cellar to grab an old wine, she sees someone haunting her. Cami tries to run away while the door is locked from the outside. Soon after hearing her screaming as a shadow comes closer to her, Charles Jr. opens the door. Later, Drew and Hannah confront Charles Abernathy. They learn about the kind of deal he had to make to grow the family’s money, which results in such a terrible night.
Charles Jr. is playing eight-ball when he feels an ominous presence of something that interrupts his play. Later, Madeline tells him that since their father has come up with such a bizarre idea, it will not be hard to convince the board that Charles Abernathy has aged and is losing control over his mind. While the elder siblings are planning to take over the family business, Cami, the youngest sibling, falls victim to the demonic entity that is present inside the house.
The siblings later find Cami’s dead body inside the swimming pool. Moments later, the body disappears. Charles Abernathy decides to give Cami’s portion of the inheritance to Hannah since she has shown her loyalty to the family and decides to stay even when she has the chance to leave. Madeline and Charles Jr. start to remove Hannah from the equation as they think that Hannah is up to something that can damage their profit as well. So, they lure Hannah and Drew into a trap and lock them inside a huge vault.
Soon after, Madeline is grabbed by something and is dragged while Charles Jr. chases her in order to rescue her from that invisible force. Charles Jr. suddenly sees Cami’s ghost vomiting water onto Madeline. When he confronts the ghost, it starts coming close to him as he pulls the trigger to shoot Cami. The bullet, however, goes through the ghost’s body and ends up killing Madeline instead. Meanwhile, Hannah begs Drew to find a way to get out of the house as she prioritizes themselves rather than the inheritance.
What is the Real Reason Behind Gathering All the Siblings?
The couple end up inside a hall where Charles Abernathy keeps all his historical collections. There is a gate, and with the minimal opening that is found, Hannah tries to squeeze in. But fails to do so because something is trying to stop them from escaping the house. Later, they are chased by some evil force, and they end up finding a secret room. Meanwhile, Charles Jr. is being targeted by the demonic entity, which eventually kills him. Hannah learns in the secret room that Charles Abernathy is up to some serious rituals when they hear Charles Jr. scream.
Soon after, Drew and Hannah confront Charles Abernathy about the real truth, because of which almost every sibling is now dead. Charles Abernathy finally tells them that his father was behind everything. Charles Abernathy’s father embezzled Abernathy’s money, which resulted in a great loss for the family. When Charles takes responsibility for the property, he is left with nothing but debts and empty accounts. So, to secure the family’s glory, he makes a deal with a demon called Mammon. The deal was simple. Charles will have everything, and instead, he will be required to offer his soul on his 75th birthday.
But, when Charles’ wife dies, he feels that he has so much to do and he is not yet ready to die. So, he bargains once again with Mammon. Now, if he needs to live more, he is required to sacrifice his bloodline, meaning Mammon needs all his children so that Charles can be spared. Now, Charles brings out his gun and apologizes to Drew before shooting him in the head. Later, Charles opens the door and offers Drew’s body to Mammon so that he can complete the deal by ending his bloodline. To live more, Charles Abernathy basically sacrifices all his children. Now, since Hannah is the only witness, it is her turn to die.
The Inheritance (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Who Inherits the Inheritance in the End?
Charles Abernathy starts shooting at Hannah as midnight approaches. He needs to sacrifice all his children by midnight. When it is done, he is confident that he is going to live anyway. Meanwhile, Hannah, without even having the opportunity to grieve her husband’s murder, tries to hide from Charles Abernathy. She finds Charles Jr.’s gun with one bullet remaining inside. When she gets the opportunity, she shoots at Charles Abernathy, and a grandfather clock falls upon him.
Charles Abernathy tries to reach for his gun. But Hannah stops him from doing so. Later, she opens the present she and Drew had thought of handing over to Charles Abernathy on his birthday. But, with the sudden news that befell upon them by Charles Abernathy, they did not have the time or opportunity to give the gift. However, now, Hannah opens the present and shows the image from the anatomy scan, which shows that she is pregnant with a daughter. So, when Charles Abernathy thought that his bloodline had ended with Drew, he was wrong.
Midnight arrives, and since the bloodline does not end with Drew, Mammon comes for Charles Abernathy. The deal is not met, and a ritual always comes with a risk. Demons don’t give you second chances like human beings because they thrive in fear, and fear remains when one is ruthless. At the end of the film, we see Mammon killing Charles Abernathy. The following day, when Miles opens the door, Hannah leaves the house immediately. Her daughter now owns the whole Abernathy inheritance as she enters her car, leaving the property as soon as possible.
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