It is nice to have Taiwan step up and join the Asian horror genre. However, this movie wasn't really particularly a great one, but still the effort was made. The DVD brandishes "among the spookiest ever seen in Asian horror", to that I can only assume that the reviewer isn't particularly experienced in the Asian horror genre.
"The Heirloom" tries to tell a fairly simple story, but director Leste Chen manages to totally kill off the storyline by making the story told in a confusing way and often gives up on continuity throughout the story. It was a shame, because the storyline itself was good, but it was just subjected to an improper hand unable to handle it well. It was a real shame, because the aspect of the whole storyline with the child ghosts/spirits was really interesting and the story did have potential for something greater than it turned out to be.
As far as it being a horror movie goes, then "The Heirloom" is surprisingly devoid of scares and spooks. There wasn't even a single shock moment in the entire movie. And compared to Asian standards, then this wouldn't be considered even remotely scary.
The people cast for the various roles were doing great jobs, although it was an uphill battle against a messy script and a confusing storyline. However, Terri Kwan (playing Yo) and Jason Chang (playing James) were doing good jobs carrying the movie against all odds.
But regardless of the messy outcome of the final cut of the movie, then it is good to have Taiwan marked on the horror market as well, and I am hoping to get to see more horror from there - and hopefully movies that aren't as confusing and badly scripted as this one.
I am rating "The Heirloom" a 4 out of 10 rating, because the movie did have potential and was well produced, just a shame about the butchery that was done to the storyline.
"The Heirloom" tries to tell a fairly simple story, but director Leste Chen manages to totally kill off the storyline by making the story told in a confusing way and often gives up on continuity throughout the story. It was a shame, because the storyline itself was good, but it was just subjected to an improper hand unable to handle it well. It was a real shame, because the aspect of the whole storyline with the child ghosts/spirits was really interesting and the story did have potential for something greater than it turned out to be.
As far as it being a horror movie goes, then "The Heirloom" is surprisingly devoid of scares and spooks. There wasn't even a single shock moment in the entire movie. And compared to Asian standards, then this wouldn't be considered even remotely scary.
The people cast for the various roles were doing great jobs, although it was an uphill battle against a messy script and a confusing storyline. However, Terri Kwan (playing Yo) and Jason Chang (playing James) were doing good jobs carrying the movie against all odds.
But regardless of the messy outcome of the final cut of the movie, then it is good to have Taiwan marked on the horror market as well, and I am hoping to get to see more horror from there - and hopefully movies that aren't as confusing and badly scripted as this one.
I am rating "The Heirloom" a 4 out of 10 rating, because the movie did have potential and was well produced, just a shame about the butchery that was done to the storyline.