Upamanyu Biswas
At the end of ‘The Inheritance,‘ the Abernathy family’s curse takes a new turn when the aging patriarch, Charles Abernathy, finally reveals the true extent of his actions and how their consequences have followed him directly to his 75th birthday. After spending the majority of the night locked up in the mansion’s study, Charles leaves the room to discover each of his children being slowly hunted down. However, all of it seems to be part of a much bigger conspiracy, one that Charles is privy to on his own. As such, the responsibility falls upon Hannah and Drew, the movie’s protagonist couple, to figure out why the demonic force has such a hold over the family. The final portion brings another twist into play as Hannah reveals yet another piece of information that challenges the curse and Charles’ plan. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Inheritance Plot Synopsis
‘The Inheritance’ begins with the Abernathy children, C.J., Kami, Madeline, and Drew, arriving at their father Charles Abernathy’s estate to celebrate his 75th birthday. Although they are explicitly told to come alone, Drew brings his wife, Hannah, with him. After sharing a few gracious words outside the estate, the family members enter the estate only to discover that their father has spruced it up with all manner of security installations. The head of the security operation, Miles, tells them that their father wishes to talk with all of them. Although alarmed by the new additions to the house, the group wanders into the study to meet Charles. There, the patriarch informs them quite shockingly that he is dying.
Subsequently, Charles tells his children that he wishes to bequeath his wealth to them under one condition — they keep him alive for the whole night from a mysterious predator. He makes it clear that the matter should only be handled by his offspring and tells Hannah that she should leave with Miles. However, the young woman decides to stay back. Meanwhile, the rest of the children decide to go about their stay normally, relegating Charles’ concerns to those of a fanciful man, doubly glad that they might earn a significant sum of money if their father survives till the next night. Soon after nightfall, Kami enters the cellar looking to get her hands on some alcohol but is put off by a mysterious growling noise. Later, when she goes to the swimming pool, she is attacked by an unseen force who kills her.
Moments later, C.J. and Madeline are informed by Drew and Hannah that Kami is missing. The two have been planning behind everyone’s backs to somehow get their hands on their dad’s money without much fuss. However, after discovering Kami’s body, a hushed eeriness falls over proceedings as everyone in the house starts wondering whether Charles’ words are valid. Matters get even worse when her body disappears. Charles uses the opportunity to split his inheritance money and include Hannah into the mix, who is to be bequeathed Kami’s share. In the meantime, C.J. and Madeline get unhappy with their father’s favoritism and decide to lock up Drew and Hannah in the family vault. Unfortunately, the twins become the next target for the unseen force that killed Hannah.
Why is the Demon After Charles?
After C.J. and Madeline lock up Drew and Hannah in the vault, they are assaulted by the mysterious demon. It abducts Madeline while a helpless C.J. can only watch in horror, realizing that the predator after the Abernathy family is a supernatural entity. Madeline wakes up in Kami’s room, where the demon appears in Kami’s body. C.J. arrives to save his sister but ends up accidentally killing her with a rifle shot. Subsequently, he lets Drew and Hannah out of the vault and urges them to go to Charles to find out the real reason why the demon is after them. The two rush to Charles’ study while C.J. stays behind and is killed by the demon. In their desperation, Drew and Hannah end up in a hidden room, where they discover a variety of occult summoning rituals, some of which explain the demon’s origins.
Moments later, they escape the room and realize that C.J. is dead. They rush to Charles’ room, where the patriarch explains the real reason why the demon is hunting him. As it turns out, many moons ago, the Abernathy family was in a dire financial situation with no way out. During that time, Charles, desperate to escape the miserable plight, performed an occult summoning ritual to make a deal with the demon of greed, Mammon. According to the agreement, he would have great success in his businesses at the cost of his soul, which Mammon would come to collect from him on his 75th birthday. However, as Charles had grown greedy and unsatisfied with his achievements, he wanted to live a little longer and decided to renegotiate the deal to survive a bit longer in exchange for his bloodline being wiped out by Mammon.
Therefore, the demon is going around killing each Abernathy family member due to the insidious deal brokered by Charles. Additionally, the latter called all his children to the house to allow them to be eradicated easily in one fell swoop by Mammon, thereby completing the terms of the deal between him and Charles. It is a truly despicable act of filicide driven entirely by Charles’ personal gain and selfish interests. Even after years of success and wealth, Charles has grown increasingly ambitious and wants more material gain, even if it comes at the cost of his own children’s lives. His ability to exchange his offspring’s lives for serving his needs showcases how badly his values have been corrupted by greed, making him blind to the real valuable things in life.
What Happens to Drew?
After divulging the reasons behind why Mammon is hunting him, Charles does something even more sinister. He takes out a gun from his box and shoots Drew straight through the head. The latter becomes so invested in Charles’ story that he fails to realize his father’s betrayal until it’s too late. As a result, the last of the Abernathy bloodline, other than Charles, is wiped out, thereby fulfilling the conditions of Charles’s deal with Mammon. Unlike the other Abernathy children, who Mammon kills, Charles himself kills Drew, showing no signs of remorse on his face or through his body language when doing so. It suggests that the death of his son, like all his other children, is part of his thinking process and something he has seen as a necessary evil to gain the outcome he wants.
In the aftermath of Drew’s murder, Charles opens the doors to his study and announces to Mammon that he has fulfilled his end of the bargain. When the demon does not appear, there is a sense that Charles has finally achieved his plan and executed it to perfection, even if it is quite heinous by nature. Meanwhile, Hannah grieves the death of her husband, who, despite his blood relation to the Abernathy’s, was a lot more compassionate than his siblings and his father. Both Hannah and Drew stuck out from the other Abernathys, mainly owing to their philanthropic work, working primarily in the charity wing of their father’s foundation. However, it also meant that Drew became an unwitting pawn in his father’s game and part of a generational curse that he had no knowledge about, one that cost him dearly.
Does Hannah Survive? Is the Abernathy Curse Lifted?
Following Drew’s death, Charles starts attacking Hannah, looking to rid himself of her presence as she knows the secrets of his bargain with Mammon. In the ensuing struggle, Hannah manages to get her hands on a rifle and heads downstairs while Charles pursues her with his gun. Charles searches for her from room to room and corridor to corridor until, eventually, she startles him from a hiding place and shoots him. She then pins him under a clock cabinet. Charles begins pleading with Hannah to help him in exchange for money. However, the young woman is less than interested, especially after he killed her husband. She tells Charles that despite his best efforts, his deal with Mammon is not yet fulfilled as she is pregnant with Drew’s child, meaning that their unborn daughter is of Abernathy blood.
The new info startles Charles, who realizes that the game is up and Mammon will come to collect his dues soon. Soon after Hannah leaves him struggling on the ground, Charles looks up to see the silhouette of his dead children circling around him and coming closer by the second. With their final step approaching, Charles notices the demon Mammon perching over him, who spreads his pincer-like mouth wide open and attacks him. Although the scene cuts away before we get a confirmation, it seems pretty certain that Charles met a gruesome end at the hands of his tormentor and deal-maker. It also means a conclusion to the Abernathy curse as the terms of the deal made between Charles and Mammon have been adequately fulfilled. Meanwhile, Hannah walks back to the living room and waits for the night to end.
As soon as morning appears, the doors around the house unlock, and Hannah informs Miles that everyone inside the house is dead before she enters her cab and tells the driver to take her “home.” Although she managed to survive, the events of the night will have left a long-lasting scar on Hannah’s psyche, particularly after losing her husband in such a tragic manner. However, with her child just around the corner, the young woman may find a new lease on life and recover some of her zeal and connection to her husband through their daughter, who will continue the Abernathy legacy for better or worse.
Read More: Is The Inheritance a True Story? Is the Abernathy Estate a Real Mansion?
