Inheritance parents guide: This quirky murder mystery could be fun for teens

Murder mysteries don’t always have to be gritty and dark. They can be fun and quirky, which is exactly what you get with Inheritance.

The 2024 Netflix movie is now available to stream. It follows a family that attends their uncle’s home to hear the reading of his will after his death. As the family members find themselves in a game, they learn how to work together. At the same time, they need to figure out how to save one of their own from others who want the old man’s inheritance.

While the movie is officially rated TV-MA, it’s not really something that you have to hold back from teenagers. This is something I would definitely be comfortable allowing my tween to watch.

Inheritance doesn’t quite earn its TV-MA rating

The movie doesn’t involve a lot of what you would usually expect in an R-rated movie, which is what TV-MA is. In fact, I found myself wondering why it was rated so highly. I can only guess that it’s linked to the violence.

Sex & nudity: There isn’t any graphic sex or nudity throughout the movie. There is some passionate kissing, and the topic of sex (or the lack of it) does come up. However, nothing is shown on screen.

Language: The language is extremely mild for a TV-MA rating. I don’t remember one F-bomb dropping. The worst was the likes of “hell” and “damn.”

Violence & gore: This is where it could land a bit of a higher rating than PG-13. We open the movie with the uncle being shot. However, while we see the bullet flying toward the uncle, we don’t see it hit his chest.

Later on, there is a dead body in the kitchen. There are no visible wounds or a lot of blood pouring all over the body, and there are no marks on the man’s face. In fact, the dead man looks peacefully asleep, which makes you wonder if it is a prank at first.

There is a scene where one character uses his judo moves to take down an assailant. This is very much like Karate Kid, so, again, nothing that I would expect in a TV-MA-rated movie.

Alcohol & drugs: There is some drinking at the dinner table, but that’s the only time when alcohol is seen. There are some drugs, but it’s not what you would expect. There is a twist with a box of chocolates that is explained in the movie. The chocolates were an experiment for the uncle, and they were only taken on Saturdays. This twist and the location of the chocolates are important for the climax of the movie, so I won’t spoil exactly what the drug is.

Just know that one of the lead characters does spend his time high for most of the movie because of eating these chocolates.

Overall verdict: Who is Inheritance appropriate for?

If your teens love to solve murder mysteries, this is one for them. This is more like Knives Out than like the gritty dramas that you’re used to watching. It’s fun, with minimal violence and nudity. It’s just fun to guess who committed the crime, what the assailants want, and whether the family will get their inheritance or not.