Product Details

• Actors: Terri Kwan, Jason Chang, Yu-chen Chang, Tender Huang, Yi-Ching Lu
• Directors: Leste Chen
• Writers: Dorian Li
• Producers: Josh Yeh, Michelle Yeh
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Cantonese
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Tartan Video
• DVD Release Date: April 25, 2006
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EDWKZ6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,933 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Heirloom" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 06/27/2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You Might Feel As If You've Seen This "Heirloom" Before--A Familiar Ghost Story From Taiwan, March 19, 2007

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Heirloom (DVD)

Having taken in a number of Asian horror films in recent weeks, I have been pleasantly surprised by most. Even those films that were not wholly successful still managed to engage me with original ideas and/or ambitious narratives. I looked forward to "The Heirloom," then, an old fashioned ghost story from Taiwan. After a vivid and macabre opening in which a dozen members of one family hang themselves together (it's an unsettling visual), I prepared myself for a fun ride. However, after the initial setup, Leste Chen's "The Heirloom" settles into a very familiar pattern. It becomes apparent that we are going to be engaged in a thriller in which a house is possessed by evil spirits and those spirits will affect those who come into contact with them--sort of like an Asian "Amityville Horror."

The film, in its opening scenes, establishes that the wealthy Yang family came to prosperity by worshipping the dark arts--specifically calling on the powers of child-ghosts. The Yangs, therefore, are the family in the aforementioned mass suicide by hanging. Dealing with the dark arts isn't always as appealing as it may at first seem! Years later, James (Jason Yang) inherits the old mansion without knowing much of his family's history. He promptly moves in with his fiance Yo (Terri Kwan). Of course, it doesn't take long before strange occurrences begin--noises, visions, etc. Most alarmingly, the house seems to be driving their friends crazy! It is a well-worn question in films of this type, "Why, oh why, don't they just leave?" Yo does ask this question, a little late in the game for my taste, but is dismissed by James--which should be a bit alarming due to all that has transpired to this point.

There is such a familiarity to everything that happens to our young protagonists, nothing that will come as a shock or surprise to those who follow the horror genre. This lack of originality certainly caused me to lose some interest in the film. But I did like Yang and Kwan enough to stick with them--and their adventures proved to be watchable, yet forgettable. The ending, however, had a certain lyrical quality that I found appealing in light of the unpleasant circumstances. If you like this sort of thing, there is much to be admired here--the house, in particular, is a pretty spooky place. But I never truly overcame the "been there, seen this" attitude which settled over me very early in the picture. I don't mind having seen "The Heirloom" once, but I can't really imagine revisiting it again. KGHarris, 03/07.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very dramatic horror film with a heart pounding mystery, April 28, 2006

By 

Horror-Fanatics.com - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heirloom (DVD)

Some may think that supernatural stories are played out. We've had plenty here in the states and we're getting much more overseas. What I love about each of these movies is that they're not so repetitive. You get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again, but with these kind of thrillers we always get something different. Sure the ghosts are there but the stories are different and the way the characters are presented is what makes each film stand alone. There are some many movies that I can name which carry the same overall topic but each of those movies you see in the stores are different from each other in one way or another. You don't have to watch these movies for the scares even though it's fun to be scared. You can just sit down and watch it for the story and the relationships between the characters. Heirloom to me is one of those movies. Sure it's a movie about an unknown supernatural force but it's the films story that draws you in. Heirloom isn't really scary and I don't believe it was made to be a scary movie. What makes Heirloom so great and powerful is the plot and the twists that you figure out as you go along.

Heirloom tells the story of a man who inherits an old family house. As he checks the place out he decides to move in and bring his fianc?e along. As they stay in the house the man slowly begins to remember parts from his childhood, bringing back old memories that were forgotten with age. The house has a dark history, in which thirty years prior the entire family attended bizarre rituals an ended up committing suicide all at the same time. Each relative hung on a rope to die. While the man is unaware of his family's history he begins to witness some strange happenings involving the old house. Friends are appearing in the house out of nowhere and others are being killed off from weird and mysterious causes. Is it the house itself or is there something evil going on? We soon find out as the couple dig deeper into the family history and what really went on thirty years ago.

Now this is a movie definitely worth watching. The story is great even though not all of it is original. But the way it's played out scene by scene is different and when you figure out the mystery behind everything it's not pleasant at all. Heirloom features one of the most disturbing plot turns I've ever seen. It's not graphic but the idea of everything is so twisted and wrong that the story just completely drives you in. Heirloom is a very dramatic horror film with a heart pounding mystery, likeable characters and a good story all around. The plot and dialog in the movie is what really makes it good to watch. It's been so long since I've been bothered by a twist and Heirloom does a really good job of letting the story unfold with the dialog and disturbing flashbacks. Most of the movie we fallow a couple who try to find out the mystery behind the house and all the weird events that have taken place over the last week. The overall subject deals with family curses, punishments and characters who have to deal with the same fate.

The movie is beautifully shot, using different views from inside the house to give it a more creepy feeling that the house itself is large and contains a dark history. A lot of scenes blend together with flash backs to tell the story and give it more of a questionable approach as to what the answer to everything is. Like most mysterious you don't get to know everything until near the end. Which is also when we get to see more of these flashbacks, the near end explains it all. The overall look of Heirloom is also really good. The art design is fantastic and you really believe that the characters are staying in an old house. Nothing looks too fake or obvious. The locations are fine and to spice things up the film also has a simple yet perfectly fitting score. The music sets up the mood and each scene should be enough to draw your attention. Heirloom is a well made and good looking film which I really recommend watching. Also be sure to check out the bonus features to understand more about the making of it.

If you want to see a movie that will scare the living daylights out of you, then look somewhere else. Heirloom isn't the kind of movie to watch for scares, or blood and guts for that matter. Like many movies involving supernatural mysteries Heirloom is a plot and dialog driven film. Using the story and characters to set the mood and to have you guessing until the end. But trust me when I say it's not pleasant. There are no happy endings or events in this picture. The story is very dark and can be unsettling at times. Watch Heirloom for the mystery, not for action or a huge body count. If you sit down and pay attention all the way through then you will be rewarded. It's a good movie that doesn't supply scares and blood to get the viewers attention. There's plenty of drama and mystery for that.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Zhaibian (The Heirloom) - a Taiwanese film, June 6, 2006

By 

Kwaile "ubug" (East Asia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heirloom (DVD)

This isn't a review as such - I just wanted to point out that this is a Taiwan production, and not a film from Thailand, as previously stated.