Vanquishing The Spirits That Haunt Us: Annalise Lockhart On Her Short "Inheritance"
Director Annalise Lockhart is a writer/director whose work is influenced by her Afro-Futurist beliefs and the genre’s power for change. She has worked extensively as a 1st Assistant Director on projects such as Random Acts of Flyness (HBO), The Assistant starring Julia Garner, The Fits and Chained For Life. Inheritance is her first short film as both writer and director. The film focuses on a Black family who are haunted by white ghosts in rural America.
A Black family in rural Vermont attempts to live a life of solitude and cope with the ghosts living on their property.
This powerful short screened at the Atlanta Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival, and the the Palm Springs International Shortfest. We had the pleasure of chatting with Annalise about her film, its origins, finding a perfect metaphor, blending sci-fi with horror, and much much more!
Inheritance has such a unique and interesting concept. How did the idea for the film originate?
I was inspired to write this film by my mother’s house in Shrewsbury, Vermont — the house where we shot the film hasn’t changed since 1985 when she and her brother bought it! I had so many fond memories of disappearing into the woods surrounding the cabin, feeling that when I was there I could truly escape and be alone — almost invisible. This was in stark, stark contrast to the life we normally led in Brooklyn, where I was always aware of being watched or scrutinized. I wanted to tell a story about a Black family fighting for their hard-earned home, while addressing the ways stereotypes from the “real world” can follow us into the “natural world.” This story is an ode to that place, as well as to the fantasy I’ve held since I was able to capture that feeling as a child: What if we could disappear? What if we had control over how and when we are seen?
I loved how you used the apparitions as a metaphor for what it feels like to be black in America; it can be felt on such a visceral level, regardless of if you’re inside or outside the culture. How did you discover such a novel device, and how did you nail down their haunting look?
Thank you! Just as the idea for the film came from my interest in narratives of escape, the apparitions definitely evolved from escape or invisibility’s opposite. I essentially asked the question, what if these spirits haunting them, what if their strongest power was staring? What if the power and evil of their stare was enough to wear this family down? I think that type of haunting, which tracks onto the metaphor I’m drawing, can be much more insidious a force than a traditional haunting. Kathryn Graham Howell, who plays the woman ghost, phrased it kind of interestingly: she thought of her character as an ambassador of the earliest colonizers to the North East, who have mistakenly for centuries believed the land to be rightfully theirs, and that it is their duty to protect it.
Going along with the force of their stares, I wanted their appearance to be akin to looking into a fun-house mirror. Their eyes glow red, and, very subtly, their faces melt and warp. (I have to shout out Mike Barnett who did VFX, he really killed it.) Going along with the “ambassador of the colonizers” idea, their dress and makeup conveys that they have come from the poisoned earth — dirt, twigs in their hair, wet, soiled clothing. The fog that signals their arrival is meant to be the cold rising up from the earth — like going into a mountain cave.
I also really loved how you lean into science fiction as well; it adds another unique layer to what already felt like a super singular film. How did you cook that up?
I knew that I wanted the solution to their haunting to come from science fiction. One visit to the cabin while writing the film, I became interested in the tubing network connecting the trees to the sugar houses. I wondered: what would future generations think the networks accomplished, if they stumbled onto them, abandoned in the woods? How could the networks be used to engineer a way out of their suffering? I started to research trees, specifically maple trees, and became obsessed with how trees produce electricity, because I’m a huge nerd. More than that, trees are connected to each other through a complex network in the soil, and redivert resources to each other. I just loved the idea of Tucker researching all of this, and engineering a way for the family out of their suffering, all with his love of trees.
The “McCoy Field” is in honor of Elijah McCoy, an African-American, son of fugitive slaves, inventor and engineer.
The film is loaded with terrific performances from its three primary leads. How did you find your excellent cast, and what was it like working with them on the project?
I was so lucky to have found them! I found both Victoria Villier and Ron Brice through a casting call online. Ron acted in many films in the 90s, and I was lucky to have found him just as he is getting back into acting after a hiatus. I met DeLeon Dallas through a friend.
Working with them was a gift. You always hope in casting that the actors will feel like a real family, but it was so great to see Ron, Victoria, and DeLeon just get super comfortable with each other. We’d often do pre-action improv, just to get pieces of un-scripted family banter. You can hear some of that at the end of the film after they have disappeared.
How did your experience as a 1st Assistant Director prepare you for the director’s chair?
I think through 1st ADing I cultivated an understanding of each crew members role on set. That proved very helpful as a first time director in collaborating with each crew member, and seeing them for their strengths and gifts they brought to the film. Having watched many directors, I also knew that communication is just key through every moment on set. Communication!
The film is full of lovely, rustic visuals. How did you and cinematographer Charlotte Hornsby arrive on the film’s final look?
Thank you! Charlotte Hornsby and I have a long friendship, and we had been looking for a project to work on together for a few years. When Charlotte shoots a film, she works at knowing the script intimately, and motivating every choice from the narrative of the film.
So much of the power of the film (I hope) comes from the mood evoked in each space. We divided up the emotional phases of the interior of the cabin, as well as emotional phases of the woods surrounding it. The cabin interior has a narrative arc: it starts out warm and inviting, and as the film progresses it becomes more sinister, darker, more like a cage. At the close of the film the interior has made a full journey back to roaring hearth, glowing lamps and warmth.
Similarly with the exteriors, for example: the cabin is actually directly on a road, but you would never know from the way the film is photographed. We wanted the trees and foliage to feel like they were sort of closing in on them, and you don’t get a full view of the whole house until the final frame of the film.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that much of the look is inspired by classic science fiction films, from the practical SFX through to the color correct.
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
My father inspired me to get into the field from a young age. He was a playwright. I feel very lucky to have had a family that supported my career in the arts so early on, and recognized that it was a viable profession.
I have always loved science fiction and fantasy, and as a Black woman, have felt that I have something unique to say on the subject. It’s been really amazing to see more and more science fiction films with predominately BIPOC casts. Dream come true!
What films or filmmakers have inspired you, your style, or your approach to telling a story?
Too many to count! I’ve been super inspired by some of the “classics:” Eve’s Bayou, E.T., Daughters of the Dust, The Matrix… Jonathan Glazer’s film Birth is one of my favorites — it’s so strange, it makes your brain hurt a little. Genre film in general has been hugely influential to me, but it’s important to me that style isn’t sacrificed for substance.
My favorite film in the past few years is Atlantics. I just loved everything about it. The simpler or more straightforward the narrative, the greater the impact, in my opinion.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
A good scare! I want audiences to come away from the film with the understanding that this is a snapshot in this family’s life, and their choice at the end is a jumping off point for them. They are not intending to disappear forever. If their story were to continue, they would continue building and creating, in secret, to figure out a way to vanquish the spirits for good. That is my hope for all of us!
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
I am currently writing and developing a feature film centered around a woman trying to save her father’s life — science fiction as well. Next month, I will be directing a post-apocalyptic zombie short film written by my friend and collaborator Mary Glen Fredrick who appears briefly in Inheritance as Norra’s friend.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!