‘Heiresses’ Panic Fest 2024 Review: A New Take On The Living Dead
Chad Collins
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Heiresses (Herederas) is a slight story of the undead augmented by an unusual commitment to one of moviemaking’s greatest hidden treasures—dialogue. Carlos Marbán’s riff on Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (or a dozen other reanimated loved ones horror pictures) eschews the more visceral genre elements for something considerably more plaintive and communicative. While it doesn’t always make for particularly scary viewing, there’s novelty in trying something different. The living dead remain the living dead, though for brief moments, Heiresses feels like a new life altogether.
Elena’s (Anna Coll Miller) husband, César (Jordi Rubio) is killed in an auto accident, leaving Elena alone to raise their teenage daughter, Celia (Alma J. Cerezo). Wisely, Marbán detours around quotidian depictions of horror grief, jumping forward to a moderately well-adjusted mother-daughter pairing. While both are clearly hurting, conflict is never culled from arbitrary tension, contrived efforts at pitting one’s grief against the others’.
Elena and Celia eat dinner together, gab like friends, and maintain healthy social lives beyond their home. The augur of something terrible to come is illustrated most prominently in literary quotes sprinkled throughout. Mary Shelley’s words, “I refuse to accept that the destiny of my family is so low, that it leads to being born only to die”—is appropriately gothic. Conversely, a selection of H.P. Lovecraft’s writing on the mercy of death feels obvious at best, and misguided at worst.
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A lack of groove constrains rough early stretches. Miller and Cerezo often act by simply looking off-camera and shaking their head, a technique used to signal elation and indifference all the same. Both soon settle into their roles, gamely talking their way through a dialogue-heavy script where the horror exists mostly on the periphery.
The late-game twist involves some gnarly body horror, replete with all the horrific medical imagery—including a syringe to the eye—genre fans might expect. The shift, while welcome, isn’t handled with care, swerving into a violent lane with little warning. While plenty of blood is spilled, it similarly massacres the nuanced, distinct vibe Heiresses had been cultivating thus far.
Yet, Marbán nonetheless manages a successful reanimation of a familiar conceit. Flesh is torn and chewed, yes, but most prominently, there’s a cinema-verité undercurrent that feels welcome in the crowded morgue of the “dead things should stay dead” subgenre. While often more experimental than successful, Heiresses is an indie worth inspecting. Despite its theme, the movie’s best moments are bursting with genuine, authentic life.
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Heiresses
Summary
The living dead remain the living dead, though for brief moments, Heiresses feels like a new life altogether.
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