Heirlooms Short Film Review: A Psychological Horror Rooted in Grief
Plot: Jamie's restoration of an armoire takes a sinister turn.
Heirlooms is a visceral take on grief and trauma that blends horror elements, making it an interesting horror story.
The entire story, however, rests on actress Chloe Van Landschoot's capable shoulders as she helps us navigate a complex tale of unresolved trauma and the repercussions of that.
HEIRLOOMS Plot
Jamie is in her mother's house, surrounded by her things. She's restoring an armoire and hoping to sell it off.
She is on a video call with her husband, who offers her support and is concerned about her well-being.
Jamie is busy working on the armoire, distracting herself from her grief, when she comes across a box that holds a brush, a handheld mirror, and half of a photo.
Turns out it is the other half of a photo of her.
Jamie may have had a twin sister who liked taking pictures next to the armoire.
Behind her, a woman in a dress is waiting for her in her room, but Jamie doesn't notice.
That night, she has a nightmare of her using the brush in her hair and pretty much scraping her scalp until it bleeds.
When she wakes up, she decides to sell off the armoire and even receives a call from an interested buyer. But the call is disconnected.
Jamie then turns to find the woman in the dress is her, calling her Cassie.
She immediately calls her husband, and he decides to cancel all his meetings and return.
But Jamie then finds herself locked in her room and having to witness her other self murdering her husband, who has returned.
Seconds later, the scene repeats, but this time, Jamie manages to leave the room only to be attacked by her other self.
Jamie stabs her and then finds out it was her husband all along.
Shaken, she composes herself and drags her husband next to the armoire where two pairs of hands grab him and pull him inside.
Jamie is then reunited with her sister, standing on either side of the armoire, exactly like in the photo.
MY TAKE ON THE MOVIE
Heirlooms leaves you shocked, but also trying to unravel answers.
What happened to Jamie's sister? Is she even Jamie, because that doesn't explain why the ghost calls her Cassie?
On the other hand, perhaps Jamie has been hallucinating her sister because of the grief or suffering from an identity disorder.
The passing of her mother must have reminded her of her deeply buried trauma of losing her twin.
When Jamie accidentally stabs her husband, she knows exactly what to do and what the armoire is capable of.
She must have dragged her sister there at some point because she doesn't even blink when her husband is pulled inside by two pairs of hands, possibly her mother's and sister's.
The husband is now part of the heirloom.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Heirlooms makes you pause and think. It is eerie and atmospheric, leaving an impression in your mind long after the credits roll.
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