The Heirloom (2005)

Very well executed

Redundant and unnecessary.

Perfect cast and a good story

Absolutely brilliant

I thought that the Asian film called The Heirloom was a good supernatural horror film. An architect called James Yang returns from the UK with his girlfriend called Yo, to inspect an old mansion that he has inherited on the outskirts of Taipei, they move into their new home. but then strange things start to happen. Yo's journalist goes missing and the James's friend Cheng gets strangled in a bathtub. they soon find out that the house may have strange or murderous powers. To find out the truth about the house, James and his girlfriend Yo start to begin to investigate the history of James's family and uncover a tale of mass suicide.

THE HEIRLOOM had a pretty decent and twisted concept - unfortunately, it didn't deliver on it. The first 40 minutes of the film were pretty much completely unnecessary and could have been summed up in 10 minutes or so. We only get into the "meat" of the story during the second half - and even then the film doesn't deliver on what could have been a pretty cool subject...A guy inherits a house from his family that was a breeding ground for ghosts. Strange things begin happening around the house and as the (slow-moving) story goes on, we find out exactly what went down in the haunted house...The ghost-breeding concept was pretty cool - and had this part of the film been expanded on, it could have been good. Unfortunately, the whole explanation of what happened in the house was summed up in about 10 minutes in a scene where the main character's girlfriend speaks to one of his relatives in a mental institution. The film also fails by falling into many of the typical stupid horror trappings - people staying in a house that is OBVIOUSLY haunted instead of leaving like they should have in the first 5 minutes, etc...Despite decent camera-work and acting - this one just felt too "typical" to me - hence my mediocre rating. Die-hard Asian ghost-film fans will probably love this one...personally I found it extremely average...5/10

As a great fan of Asian cinema, specially horror, I've think I've seen it almost all, and lately all films unless few exceptions were very repetitive, non-imaginative and quite predictable and boring. Before watching 'The heirloom', I didn't know what to expect...Another film about haunted houses...child ghosts (with long black hair...ha ha!)and the new inhabitants chased all along the way...? But as a fan I had to try, and was really grateful I did. Yes, it's about a haunted house and a child ghost, but not the usual meaning...I don't want to spoil the film but it's about a dark tradition of worshiping spirits that lead to death to almost a whole family. A relative who's being abroad inherits the house and it's when strange things starts to happen...all related to the past...the fiancée and a friend starts investigating and they discover the horrible past of the family... What I liked most of the film is the creepy atmosphere and that the horror is merely suggested, there are few 'terror' images, not the usual scares, but there's a tension during all the whole film that keeps you at the edge of your seat. The acting, specially the lead actress, who is very good, is quite o.k. Hope Leste Chen keeps this way of film-making! I give the film an 8/10.

This was a great Thai film with some really amazingly beautiful visuals. The premise was really interesting and I appreciate the look it gave me into certain Chinese beliefs, particularly the darker ones. I could not stop thinking about this movie for a couple of days after I saw it, which to me is always a sign of a good film! The film is basically about this family that raises a baby ghost, which according to Chinese and Taiwanese beliefs can bring a family lots of money and good fortune. Well, this family certainly had wealth, but they did not have good fortune! In the beginning of the film, we see that they have all hung themselves in some sort of bizarre mass suicide.Twenty years later a distant relative returns from China to claim the house, from ancestors he never even knew he had. He brings his fiancée with him and the two proceed to move in. It begins to get really creepy when a secret fourth floor is discovered and the real family history inevitably gets discovered. Now, I don't want to give anything away so I will stop there. But, I have to tell you again this film is soooo worth seeing! The acting of the lead actress is great, the guy not so much. But overall it was the really awesome visuals, coupled with an interesting story that did it for me and made me want to recommend this one.