Heir is “just” a short film, but its story will stay with you for much longer than you could’ve imagined!

heir posterHeir is a 14 minute short film from Canada, which is very simply described with the tagline “A touching tale of father and son.”

Well, that’s certainly not wrong, but I had no idea how literal the touching part would be. We don’t usually review short films, but we wanted to tell the world about this particular short film.

For the record, here’s a bit more on the storyline:

After connecting with a stranger of similar interests online, family man Gordon and his young son Paul embark on an ill fated road trip in which Gordon aims to indulge in a secret passion. Before the day ends a horrible truth will be uncovered and a harsh lesson will be learned.

Needless to say, this is a pretty tough story to watch, because there really is no doubt what’s going on. Mainly because the actors are so damn spot on at delivering exactly the right mood and vibe from the beginning.




Originally, Heir premiered last year at Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada. Since then it has played at various film festivals and gone on to win two awards. Heir won “Best short film” at Morbido Fest last year, and “Most Effectively Offensive” at Boston Underground Film Festival this year, which is very appropriate.

Heir is definitely offensive, but it is also important

For me, the only drawback was the fact that the effects went a bit too far. Perhaps it was necessary to make the “monsters” look so grotesque for it to be clear what was going on. There’s certainly no doubt that anything else would’ve made the short film even harder to watch.

Heir review - Bill Oberst Jr

The two lead characters are played by Robert Nolan and Bill Oberst Jr., who are both outstanding. If they hadn’t been spot on all the way through, there’s no way this could’ve worked. Also, the story and directing from Richard Powell keeps the focus on the subject. Never letting up or letting go. Very well done, indeed.




It’s just 14 minutes, but you can be sure that Heir will get to you before it’s even half way there.

Details

Director: Richard Powell
Writer: Richard Powell
Cast: Bill Oberst Jr., Robert Nolan, Mateo D’Avino

Plot

A touching tale of father and son.

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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