Inheritance (2025) is directed by Neil Burger and stars Phoebe Dynevor, Rhys Ifans, Ciara Baxendale, Kersti Bryan, Byron Clohessy, and Majd Eid. The film follows Maya (Dynevor), a down-on-her-luck 20-something who’s spent the last couple of years caring for her dying mother. At the funeral, she reconnects with her estranged father, Sam (Ifans), who offers her a job with his real estate firm. Despite her father’s shady past and against the wishes of her loving sister (Bryan), Maya reluctantly accepts. At dinner one night, her father is kidnapped by a group of ex-associates who seek a mysterious hard drive. Dodging mysterious gangs as well as the local police, Maya journeys across an unfamiliar city to obtain the drive so she can exchange it for her dad’s freedom. 

The film is mostly a one-character show and Dynevor is easily up to the task. She plays this kind of hard-partying, shoplifting lowlife with ease, but never ends up being unlikable. She’s smart, resourceful, but undeniably human. Each time she makes a less-than-smart decision, there’s a clear emotional reason. It’s much easier to forgive a silly decision if the reasons behind are clear. 

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the decision to shoot everything with extreme close-ups, but Dynevor’s emotive performance eventually justified the decision. It’s somewhat headache-inducing, but it allows us to understand Maya throughout the film without the need for dialogue. The limitations of shooting on an iPhone are clear, but for the most part, Burger uses them to his advantage by finding the inherent intensity in these kinds of contained images. 

Although the movie never quite succeeds in creating tension, it displays enough intrigue to keep the viewer guessing. The plot is decently involved but never convoluted and results surprisingly in a swift ride when considering the material’s unoriginal nature. Although it lacks a true sense of danger, it’s still able to provide a few exciting sequences. For example, there’s one particular chase that doesn’t necessarily feel like it has life-or-death stakes but is exciting nonetheless. The iPhone unsurprisingly shoots the action in a way that feels noticeably more realistic than its genre peers, I just wish the stakes were higher. 

Although serviceably fun, the film never quite succeeds in truly surprising or exciting the viewer. As well as struggling to distinguish itself from similar films, it ends in a way we’ve seen countless times before. It wreaks of a film that has no script but compensates for it with technical flair and capable star power. 

Overall, this a well-produced addition to the “shot on an iPhone” genre that is fast-paced and entertaining, but struggles to tread any new ground. Nothing particularly falls flat, but nothing is all that impressive either. It’s well-shot and the dialogue works, but the overall effect is unfortunately a bit bland. I can’t condemn it, but I can’t recommend it either. You might enjoy it more than I did, but I still think you should wait for its steaming release to find out. C