Inheritance
Vertical Entertainment | Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
31
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
9
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
85
Film ThreatAlan NgJun 6, 2020
Like a good thriller, Inheritance draws you in and takes you right into the middle of the action. Then when it’s all over, you’ll want to revisit it as soon as possible to pick up on all the little details and clues. It feels real, which adds to the intensity. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenMay 19, 2020
Simon Pegg occasionally fulfills the nightmarish potential of the film’s fairy-tale premise. Read full review
58
The Film StageJared MobarakMay 20, 2020
Inheritance might have benefited from its third act being a tad subtler, but I get the allure of throwing away nuance for splashy suspense. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNell MinowMay 22, 2020
A movie with a don't-think-too-hard-about-this premise can work if it sustains its own logic. It doesn't have to hold together in our world, so long as we believe it will hold together in theirs. But Inheritance is the case of a film that's so full of holes, it was likely recut from an earlier version and not quite stitched back together. Still, it just qualifies as watchable due to its nutty premise, sumptuous settings, and a couple of dynamic confrontations. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 21, 2020
Despite a few effective “gotcha!” moments and Pegg’s performance, the movie is too artificial and undercooked to work. Logic and consistency are often overlooked qualities in today’s cinema but when they’re ignored to this degree, their absence is noticed. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshMay 21, 2020
The whole thing is a wild concept, hinging on the plausibility of every character's motivations, which are all a bit squishy. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenMay 21, 2020
The idea of a literal crypt of living family secrets has a movie-ready, over-the-top absurdity, but in this smoothed-over telling, there's no dramatic juice, no impact — just pieces on a chess board, waiting to be maneuvered. Read full review
50
Screen RantHannah HoolihanMay 19, 2020
Despite great performances from Lily Collins and Simon Pegg, Inheritance is weighed down by heavy exposition and its overly ambitious story. Read full review
42
IndieWireKate ErblandMay 19, 2020
Though Stein’s film doesn’t exactly work up to a big surprise, it does unveil some new twists in its final act that hint at better craftsmanship than what was initially on offer. Read full review
40
IGNMatt FowlerMay 26, 2020
Simon Pegg and Lily Collins act the hell out of a script with a fun set-up and a lazy payoff. Read full review
40
TheWrapSteve PondMay 20, 2020
A thriller that wants to be more than that and stretches the bounds of plausibility to get there, Inheritance may have you squirming in your seat and shaking your head in equal measure. Read full review
30
VarietyDennis HarveyMay 21, 2020
This overlong tale spends most of its nearly two hours as a somewhat draggy, talky mystery before finally deciding to be a thriller, with credibility lacking throughout. Read full review
30
The New York TimesGlenn KennyMay 21, 2020
This movie aspires to generate the kind of rich-people-you-love-to-hate juice of cable TV series such as “Billions” and “Succession.” Ultimately, Inheritance doesn’t even get to the level of “Dynasty.” Read full review
28
PolygonJesse HassengerMay 22, 2020
Though Stein assembles his early sequences with precision, laying out geography and shorthanding through set design, that sharpness is undermined by basically everything else in the movie, from micro to major. Read full review
25
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 2, 2023
Director Vaughn Stein takes forever to get this movie on its feet, and the slower he goes, the more Collins stands out as inadequate as his lead. Read full review
25
ObserverOliver JonesMay 18, 2020
Inheritance has not one iota of the thematic intensity of Bong’s film, nor any of the dynamic relationships that make Succession’s twists and turns impactful. Instead, there is nothing much on Inheritance’s mind, and the relationships end up as underdeveloped as the film’s cliché-ridden dialogue. Read full review
20
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeJul 10, 2020
Look elsewhere for virtual methadone to hold you over until the real stuff gets back in the supply chain. Just awful. Read full review
20
The GuardianEllen E JonesJul 2, 2020
The characters are paper-thin and, even on paper, their motivations don’t make much sense. Read full review
0
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 21, 2020
One adjective you don’t hear much anymore is “preposterous,” defined as “contrary to nature, reason or common sense.” Yet the word applies perfectly to Inheritance, a blithering botch job of a thriller that begs the question: “Come on, are you f**king kidding me?” Read full review
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