In Daughter, a young woman is kidnapped, taken to a remote house, and chained up in a utility room. Once she sees sight of her captor, the woman is informed that she has been chosen to become part of his family, and she won’t be leaving any time soon.
Her captor is known as Father, and he lives with Mother and Son/Brother. From here on out, the woman is to be known as Daughter/Sister, and she will be integrated into the family shortly, so long as she behaves.
The woman is then informed that if she follows the rules and doesn’t step out of line, within two years she will be set free. But she must become a big sister to her surrogate brother, and must take part in certain household activities, including lessons taught by Father.
Although the woman is desperate to flee the situation, she can’t see a way out, so is forced to go along with Father’s demands. But finding it difficult to obey Father’s every word, will she be able to remain part of the family long enough to plot an escape?
Produced, written, and directed by Corey Deshon, Daughter is a low-budget horror movie starring Casper Van Dien, Elyse Dinh, Vivien Ngô and Ian Alexander. The movie is available to rent or buy in the UK and Ireland from February 20th, through all the major digital platforms.
Grubby, gritty, and at times quite unnerving, Daughter is a great little horror, about a young woman who finds herself trapped in a seemingly impossible situation. The film takes themes of cults, abduction, coercion, and indoctrination, and mixes them altogether to produce a story about a fight for survival.
Sure, the film’s subject matter isn’t new, and there are similar examples of this type of movie already out there, including the excellent 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), but there is still much to like in Daughter. The movie is very atmospheric and it serves up an uncomfortable experience, which is built around tension and suspense.
From the moment the movie begins, the first thing that stands out is the way in which filmmaker Corey Deshon looks to the past to help shape his picture. The film is shot to look very much like a horror movie from the 1970s, the sort of thing that wouldn’t be out of place alongside the likes of The Last House on the Left (1972) or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and instantly this embeds Daughter into the fabric of the genre.
In fact, based on the first scene alone, which is rather grim, Daughter feels like a movie that has been around for decades – we simply forgot it existed. It’s not a period piece as such, but it damn well feels like it could be at times, and this adds a certain depth and weight to the picture.
Remember how Ti West made his 2009 satanic horror movie The House of the Devil feel as if it had been produced in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s? Well, it’s a similar kind of thing here in terms of the look and feel.
This movie looks old and grainy, but it is a deliberate choice. From the framing of shots, to the presentation of the picture, and the score from David Strother, director Corey Deshon wants this movie to feel tangible, lived-in and fully formed – as though it is a throwback to a previous era.
He pulls it all off marvellously, and the aesthetic and mood of the film are its biggest selling points. This is a film with a small budget, so it has rough edges and limitations which can’t be overlooked, but Deshon does what he can despite restrictions.
It’s also worth noting that while Deshon has previously directed a couple of shorts back in 2015 and 2017, Daughter is his feature film debut, so what he delivers on screen is an example of the potential he could achieve with a bigger budget. This is a good start for his film career, and based on the presentation alone, I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.
Outside of what Deshon brings to the movie, the film also includes a strong performance from Casper Van Dien, who takes on the role of Father. This is stern, creepy, controlling stuff from Van Dien and he sells the heck out of it.
He’s a good actor, that doesn’t always get the best parts, but here Van Dien is able to shine. He makes Father an unlikeable villain, and someone you wouldn’t want to encounter on a lonely, secluded road, and it gives the film extra bite.
The performance is quite understated, and Van Dien makes efforts not to go too big or too menacing with it, to ensure Father feels as if he could be a real person. This whole picture is about telling a story which could easily take place in a remote part of the US, and Van Dien leans into this nicely.
He also works well with the rest of the cast, who all put in good performances. Vivien Ngô is pretty strong as Daughter/Sister, and she shares some solid scenes with Elyse Dinh as Mother.
While Daughter does get held back by its low budget, and some scenes might feel a bit too long in places, overall the film works as intended. It takes a simple premise, makes it disturbing in all the right ways, and delivers a satisfying slice of horror.
I would have liked a little more blood, and I would have been happy to see the film go a bit darker, but I liked Daughter very much. It may not work for everyone, but it worked for me, and should work for horror fans.
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