Main cast: Cynthia Henderson (Alicia Berry), Ty Upshaw (Carl), John Griffin (Sheriff Williams), and Rip Torn (Narrator)
Director: Greg Francis
Alicia Berry grew up moving from orphanages to orphanages, so it is a pleasant surprise indeed when she inherits a Victorian house from an aunt she never knew. She and her husband Carl decide to move in, although Carl prefers that they continue to stay in Boston if he had any choice, heh. He is also convinced that their white neighbors are looking at them funny because they are black, but Alicia prefers to give them a chance. Also, she is inspired by her aunt being the first black business owner in this small town to stay put and make a fresh start. Well, this is before strange, spooky things begin to happen around the house. Well, duh, it’s a big house in a scary show episode, what does she expect?
The Inheritance isn’t a straightforward spook episode in that it has a twist that is certainly not I expect, and a resolution that is even further unexpected. I do like these developments, mind you, and it’s nice for a change to have people not forgiving the racist scums that did great harm to their loved ones, even if it seems like the “nice” thing to do. Plus, the acting is above average for one. The senile old lady here is played by the same woman that played the old lady in You’ll Wake the Dead, and she actually does a pretty decent job here. Maybe they finally paid her and the catering was nice during the filming of this episode.
However, this episode suffers from the same problem that plagues many haunted house movies and stories: there is really no reason why these people would keep staying in that damned house, but they have to, or else there will be no story. Hence, Alicia comes off as both stubborn and reckless to insist that she has to “fight” whatever it is that is making it seem like even ghosts can join the KKK and these ghosts are out to get her. She and Carl keep going down to the basement, despite having experienced weird and possibly near-fatal incidents in the past, and worse, there is a light switch visible down the stairs but these two will prefer to stumble in the dark anyway. Why are these people so determined to make me think of them as dummies severely lacking in survival instincts?
In the end, this episode is still alright. The cast members deliver some serviceable acting and the story line is pretty interesting story line, provided one doesn’t think too hard about the logic behind some of the twists and turns. I just wish it had given me better reasons for Carl and Alicia to not flee the house ten minutes into the episode.
