Victoria U. Bell directed, wrote, and acted as the lead in this feature debut of hers, “Heir of the Witch.” Folklore-based horror has been one of the go-to themes when it comes to what the industries are calling ‘Elevated Horror.’ “Heir of the Witch” reflects the same purpose without the finer execution necessary to ‘elevate’ the horror. Consequently, the film is torn between its ambition and the sensibilities of the pulpy-but-enjoyable horror flicks.
*Contains Minor Spoilers*
Anna (Victoria U Bell) is a seamstress plying her trade in a posh suburban American society. She lives with her sick and bedridden aunt, Rosie (Vanessa Neff), and cares for her. The opening scene makes it clear that Anna carries a dark secret. The secret that drove her to leave her country and come to the USA in the first place. It becomes apparent that she comes from a long line of witches from her mother’s side. Her supposedly dead grandmother, especially, seems to cast a spectral shadow on her life. In every moment of Anna’s life, under situations that could be deemed normal, she is often followed by the ghostly figures of the witch.
That makes Anna’s attempts to lead a simple everyday life all the more difficult. The superficially judgemental neighbors and peers add to the ever-increasing odds in her life. One such member of her clientele is Chloe (Deanna Rashell). Chloe, to whom Anna’s worth is as much as the dress she makes for her, invites her to a party she hosts. There Anna meets Nicholas (Ben Holtzmuller), Chloe’s fiance. Someone she starts to like. Nicholas also expresses concerns for her well-being in subsequent encounters.
During all this, the witch starts to make her moves. She entices one of Nicholas’ rich friends under the guise of a voluptuous woman, which seals the fate of that womanizer friend. The witch’s brutal attack quickly follows a little bit of sexual romp. The man is cut into pieces after the encounter. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Anna starts to feel the effects the witch’s presence is bringing on the community. She herself, however, gets entangled in another mess as she starts an affair with Nicholas. As a cherry on top, she gets pregnant too.
Bell tries her best to portray Anna’s fragile mental health, which is consistently battered by the presence of the witch. The human problems in Anna’s life would be enough to make anyone unbalanced. The additional haunting by the witch would naturally make her question her sanity. Bell, the actor, does succeed in making us believe in Anna. However, Bell, the writer, struggles.
The writing of Anna’s character lacks the nuance that is needed to have an introspective exploration. Bell offers a mere inward glance at her lead character, not an exploration. Through her meltdowns and prayers, we see Anna struggle; but the nightmares are not there. For example, the universally lauded “The Babadook” did a fantastic job when it comes to exploring the perpetually failing mind of its lead character. Granted, “The Babadook” and “Heir of the Witch” are not the same film, but Anna’s spiraling down is not etched in the glorious horrors that the film would have liked it to be, especially with the ambitious climactic twist.
And all the while, there are other supporting characters getting bumped off in a classic horror way. These supporting characters are as stereotypical as it comes. This would have been great for them as they get chomped down on if the film aimed to be a traditional creature horror fare. But, in the case of “Heir of the Witch,” with its serious overtones, the violently pulpy attack scenes betray the film’s ambitious theme.
As mentioned before, Bell as an actor, tries hard to carry the film on her shoulders. And, to be frank, she does well as the mentally plagued Anna. The other actors do their bit fairly well too, given how their characters are written. Darin Holiday’s camerawork is adequate. The climactic twist is quite smartly thought out. However, the preceding events considerably mar the final moments. Despite the shortcomings, “Heir of the Witch” is a decent effort from Victoria U. Bell if you do not get swayed by its efforts to take itself so seriously.
