There’s no question whether Grandma Woranart (Davika Hoorne) is the villain in Inherit, the new film by Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun (The Medium, Shutter).
Adapted by Pisanthanakun, Thamsatid Charoenrittichai, and Chantavit Dhanasevi from the horror novel Tayard Asoon (“The Demon’s Heir”), Inherit introduces its antagonist roughly seven minutes into its 128-minute runtime and every moment afterwards that Hoorne isn’t on screen, the audience is left asking “where is Woranart?”
This is largely because Hoorne is doing exceptional work as the film’s vampy femme fatale: an 85-year-old woman who looks like a twenty-something (Hoorne is 34 IRL). The “grandma” maintains that she has used a sophisticated skincare and beauty regiment to maintain her youth, but the reality is, of course, that she is actually…a centipede demon.
Oh, and Woranart is on the hunt for a new human host because her current body is turning into a husk.
None of this is a spoiler because Inherit makes no effort to disguise where it’s going. Or at least not from the audience.
The characters populating the screen alongside Woranart are a whole other story, however, which is one of the film’s two fatal flaws: Woranart is so incredibly compelling that her relatives, the Manasvanichs, ie: the protagonists and the people the audience is meant to root for, are incredibly bland and uninteresting by comparison.
Grandma Woranart arrives following the death of Su’s (Sinjai Plengpanich) mother and, in no time at all, she worms her way into the family’s life. Her target is teenage daughter Oui (Baipor Thitiya Jirapornsilp), who has been chronically ill since childhood and (half) resents her sheltered life. Rounding out the family is Olarn (Tin Settachoke), the patriarch, and Oui’s two brothers: youngest Rangsan (Pakin Kunaanuwit) and oldest Roj (Pongsatorn Jongwilas). None of the men make much of an impression; in fact, both brothers could be removed entirely without affecting much of anything.
Woranart quickly gets to work undermining each member of the family, principally through visions that expose their greatest secrets and fears. Intriguingly each person has something to hide – ranging from a chemical leak at the factory owned by Olarn to Roj’s taboo sexual perversion – but these secrets never really amount to anything. Most of the film’s first two acts is taken up by Woranart tormenting the family, but none of these secrets carry any weight or impact, and – in at least one instance (Rangsan’s) – it is only revealed to the audience.
The suggestion that the whole family is corrupt or fallible should be an interesting counterpoint (or complement) to the “evil” that Woranart is inflicting on them, but the screenwriters never make that connection. Instead Inherit simply paints Woranart as the villain, while the family are the heroes that we’re meant to cheer on.
Things pick up dramatically in the last act as Woranart plots to possess Oui at her 18th birthday party. By this time several disposable characters have been eliminated and a plan is enacted, leading to a heist-like climax that demands each member of the family play a specific role at a particular time.
After such a lengthy, often unwieldy runtime, the film’s other flaw, it’s nice that Inherit finishes with an exciting and sustained finale. Oddly enough it is Tien’s daughter, who is introduced more than halfway through the film, who gets the lion’s share of the interesting stuff to do, including a sequence where she and her associates must weave their way through an army of life-size sentient stone statues who attack at random.
While some of the film’s CGI looks a little dodgy, the aesthetic of these creatures, as well as a mummy-like creature who scares Rangsan under the house, feels appropriate for a supernatural thriller featuring a centipede demon. These scenes are hokey fun and play better than the more serious-minded social commentary about the Manasvanich family.
Ultimately, Inherit never overcomes its two greatest flaws: its boring non-Woranart characters and its drawn-out, over two-hour runtime. By the time the very fun climax kicks off, it feels like Inherit has overstayed its welcome and, since only Oui and Su really matter, everything to do with the bland family members feels like a chore.
Which is a shame, because the film is worth seeking out for Hoorne alone. Garbed in skin-tight outfits and blood red glasses, Woranart is alternately seductive, dangerous, and deceitful. It’s an exceptional performance that absolutely commands the screen and brings the entire movie to life.
If only the rest of the film around her were half as good.
Inherit had its world premiere at TIFF 2026. Release information TBD.
