Panic Fest Film Festival Coverage
Heiresses review
Heiresses tries to find new life in an old tale by cutting out the meat.
Festival reviews will not contain spoilers.
Heiresses
Directed by Carlos Marbán
Written by Carlos Marbán
Starring Anna Coll Miller and Alma J. Cerezo
Heiresses Review
There are three notable parts of any Frankenstein story. Each provides opportunities for fun storytelling. First…we have the how of it. Who is this being that is about to be given life? How is it achieved? Usually through chemicals and (more traditionally) lightning. Second…how the creature responds to its new life. This is the most expansive part of the story. The most fun in had here. Things go wrong…people die. Whether intentional or not. Third…how do we deal with the monster we created. Otherwise known as the climax. You played God and now your prodigy is wreaking havoc on the world. What are you going to do about it? Heiresses (Herederas in its native tongue) cuts out a lot of the second part. The choice hangs over the film regardless of how well it pulls off the other two.
In fairness, Heiresses does those other two quite well. It uses its time introducing us to the mother/daughter tandem that the story will focus on. The added attention pays off in the inevitable climax full of hard choices and true horror. Elena (Anna Coll Miller) is a widow who has put her own life on hold to care for her teen daughter Celia (Alma J. Cerezo). We first meet them before the car accident that claims the family’s patriarch. We watch a typical family dinner full of hopes and dreams about the future. Dreams that are cut short by a crash that leaves Elena unwilling (or unable) to get behind the wheel of a car.
Elena is a real estate agent confined to places within walking distance of her home. Celia is forced to get rides to school from a neighbor who she doesn’t care for much. It’s a difficult situation for everyone. When Elena decides to cut loose on a night out with her friends…her worst fears are realized. Celia suffers a fall and lies dying on their kitchen floor. The good news is that, given the time invested in their lives, we care more about Celia than we would many of the subjects in a Frankenstein story. The bad news is that withholding the inevitable event causes Heiressesto get off to a slow start.
The “how” of Celia’s resurrection is a bit messier. A confluence of convenience, so to speak. Elena’s husband worked on things she wasn’t aware of. When she (conveniently) finds the keys to his locked study a year after his death…she discovers what he was working on. You’ve probably already guessed what that is. In a stroke of unbelievable luck…Celia needs that exact thing within days of the discovery. Unbelievably bad luck…if you’ve followed almost any story that deals with bringing death to life.
Despite being unnaturally elongated…the first part of Heiresses checks all the boxes you want in this kind of story. Unfortunately, the second part is where it drops the ball. As mentioned, the rise of the monster is the fun part of these stories. Heiresses doesn’t skip it entirely…but it chooses not to play in the sandbox for long. Things progress quickly and amount to very little. The story calls for a slow realization that something is wrong…or an immediate issue that spends a good deal of time destroying the lives around it. The movie chooses neither. It skips to the climax and extends it too long as well.
The best example I can give of the issue involves a line of dialog that should be a memorable moment of pure terror. Elena speaks to a family friend who worked with her husband. She explains the situation and he responds, “that is not your daughter”. What should be a spine-tingling moment instead feels cold. It isn’t earned. As much as the movie cares for the mother/daughter relationship early in the story…it neglects exploring it after Elena raises Celia from the dead. It’s an unfortunate misstep. The decision robs us of the gruesome fun that should make up a building second act.
Heiresses is an appropriately bleak film. It deserves credit for developing an emotional connection between its lead characters. Doing so helps the climax pay off to a certain level. Unfortunately, the movie excises the fun parts on the way to more bleakness. The movie begins with a quote from Mary Shelley. An H.P. Lovecraft quote joins it later in the story. The tenor feels right…and its influences are worn firmly on its sleeve. It fails, however, to deliver on its familiar ideas in exciting ways. Miller and Cerezo are up to the task of delivering an emotional dynamic. It’s a shame that Heiresses doesn’t let them have any fun.
Scare Value
Heiresses hits the targets it aims at. Unfortunately, it’s shooting at the wrong things too often. There is a fine first and third act of a Frankenstein story here…although each play out for too long. The script was in need of a strong, more fleshed out middle section. The creeping dread and/or bloody rise of a monster make up the memorable parts of these stories. Heiresses simply passes on it.
