DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
“I want the camera to be a witness, not a participant.”
​Inherent is a ghost story told in a whisper. It doesn’t scream, it listens. I wrote this film with an emotional temperature that never rises above a breath until it absolutely has to. Every frame is designed to observe, to hold still, and to let dread unfold on its own terms.
The DNA of this film draws from the restrained elegance of The Ring and the psychological precision of Psycho. I don’t want the camera to chase fear, it should witness it. Still frames, natural light, and silence are my tools. I believe in holding a shot until it breaks under its own weight, never rushing tension, only shaping it.
But what truly grounds the film, what makes it live and breathe, are the performances. My focus is always on the actor: the internal shifts, the unsaid grief, the quiet unraveling. I want to give actors space to feel, not just perform. Horror is more affecting when we believe the person, not just the situation.
This story is personal. Evelyn’s fear of abandonment mirrors my own. Growing up without parental guidance felt like a haunting and in Inherent, that absence becomes the source of the horror. It’s not just ghosts, it’s what we carry when we’ve been left behind.
This isn’t just a horror story, it’s a human one. And I want every frame to reflect that.
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“Inherent is a ghost story whispered through stillness. I wrote it to explore the aftershocks of abandonment, grief, and obsession, where supernatural forces mirror the trauma we bury. My direction favors silence over spectacle. The camera doesn’t chase emotion, it observes it. Each scene is designed to unfold with restraint, tension, and truth.”
Director’s previous work: “The Workout” trailer
FILMMAKER
Shrunal Tembhurne is an India-born, Los Angeles–based writer-director telling horror stories where buried emotion and supernatural forces collide. He came to the U.S. on a full scholarship to pursue his Master’s in Filmmaking, developing a cinematic voice defined by emotional realism and genre tension. His work blends spiritual dread, psychological unease, and grounded storytelling, films that haunt from the inside out.
His debut feature Inherent channels personal questions of trauma and spiritual inheritance into a chilling exploration of the shadows we carry. The script earned a 7/10 on The Black List and placed as a Quarterfinalist in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards.
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Before turning to film full-time, Shrunal led a digital agency of 80+ creators, honing his instincts for narrative structure, audience psychology, and creative leadership. He’s now focused on building a slate of elevated genre films that disturb, provoke, and resonate long after the credits roll.
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