'Deadly Inheritance' is a fun little 60's Giallo flick with tight pacing, a satisfying mystery, and solid performances. The movie also has a decent plot with enough twists and turns to help make it an above average viewing experience. However, I wasn't really a fan of the rather comedic tone the movie takes and being an early example of the genre, this is a rather bloodless and plodding affair without hardly any suspense.
The plot = An rich railroad worker Oscar (Arnaldo De Angelis) is accidently killed by being run down by a train and when it comes to the reading of the will his 3 daughters are shocked to find out that he left everything to his adopted son Janot (Ernesto Colli). This leads to the family members getting killed off one by one as every member of the family has a clear motive for murder, but who is the mysterious killer.
The movie is well shot with some striking locations but lacks the stylish flair that fans of the genre have become accustomed to and while the mystery element is decent with some genuine surprises, the horror element is severely lacking. The characters here are well casted with some good performances from the likes of Tom Drake, Femi Benussi, Virgilio Gazzolo and Ernesto Colli each deliver standout performances in their roles.
Overall 'Deadly Inheritance' is enjoyable enough but needed that something extra special to stand out amongst the crowd of the far better Italian horror/thriller flicks.
