Several North Bay theatre artists move to the big screen (well, a big television screen, at least) with War of the Wills. It’s the hoary old “spend the night in a haunted house and inherit a million dollars” plot with a few adjustments. The Sonoma County-lensed thriller is now available for rent on Amazon Prime.

Will Hadeon, Sr. has passed away and has left an estate valued at several million dollars. His son, Will, Jr. (Steven David Martin) and his grandson Will, III (Kot Takahashi) find out from the estate attorney (Saskia Baur) that they are to split the inheritance provided they spend 29 days together in the family home. If either leaves the property on their own volition, they forfeit their share to the other. To ensure compliance, two security guards (Gina Alvarado, Emily Tugaw) will be stationed at the house 24/7.

It’s a big house, shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, the problem is that the two Wills can’t stand each other. Will, Sr. thinks he’s owed all the money for taking care of his father, while Will, III is in desperate need of cash. Quicker than you can reference The War of the Roses (the 1989 Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner/Danny DeVito film), the battle is on.  

If only the script by Bethany Browning and director George Dondero had stuck to that premise. Late in the film, we learn there’s a 600-year-old family curse in play and all bets are off on an interesting psychological thriller. Cue the obligatory twist at the end.  

The film, economically shot at several Sonoma County locations over a two-week period, looks good but its low budget was betrayed by some sound level issues. Director Dondero’s reliance on close-ups might be attributed to his desire to mask the scenery on which Martin had chewed as the film progressed.

Martin, by far the most experienced actor involved, seems to be having the time of his life in the role. He seems to get that he’s working on a B-movie so why not go over the top? Takahashi, an affable actor too long absent from North Bay stages, simply doesn’t have the weight to effectively play a psychologically damaged individual and compete with Martin on screen.   

The lack of a substantial backstory, tonal inconsistencies, and plot contrivances further undermine the 104-minute film. I know, you’re supposed to check your brain at the door for films of this type, but what the hell happened between father and son? Do they really need two people on guard duty in this age of video surveillance via doorbell? And don’t the two hear anything going on inside the house?

Director Dondero gets an “A” for effort on his first full length feature film, but this “B” movie only gets a “C” from me.

And while it’s good to see some familiar faces on a different medium, hurry back to the stage, folks.

War of the Wills is available for rental on Amazon Prime (though apparently it’s temporarily unavailable.)