“Daughter” Movie Review

 

“Daughter”

Movie Review

 

The film 'Daughter,' written and directed by Corey Deshon and starring Casper Van Dien as father, Elyse Dinh as mother, Vivien Ngo as sister, Ian Alexander as a brother, and Megan Le as daughter is based on true events. These words appear in the opening credits of Daughter. When combined with footage of togas-masked figures, Father and Brother pursuing a young woman, it gives the impression that we're about to witness another piece of low-budget psycho-cinema. When they catch up with her, her father beats her to death with a hammer, which only adds to the impression. Impressions can be deceiving, but director Corey has something else in mind, even if it isn't immediately apparent.

She has finally introduced to Mother and the spectator with the words, "This is your mother." You were here twenty years ago." She isn't their biological daughter, of course; this is simply another facet of the bizarre reality that Father forces upon his family. He asserts that all of this is required to safeguard his son.

Corey's film is fundamentally about manipulating reality in order to control others. Father claims that the world outside is poisonous and polluted, hence the gas masks. In the opening scene, however, we see a blue sky and green leafy trees. The film's time frame is also uncertain; the family truck and house furnishings are antiquated, and they use a Polaroid camera. Is the movie set in the past, or are they simply living in it?

By making the audience disoriented and unsure of the film's reality, it is easier for them to empathize with the Daughter and her uncertainty as she attempts to understand and navigate this twisted family structure in order to avoid her predecessor's fate.

Daughter works well as a psychological horror film. It's tense and unpredictable, with neither our heroine nor the audience knowing whom to trust or how anyone will react at any given time.

But, once again, director Corey is aiming for something more than meets the eye. Something stands out about the film's family when you look at its composition. Father, the undisputed authority on all matters of this and the next world, and Brother, for whom everything is done, are both males who only speak English. Although the brother is subservient to the father, the mother, and daughter are further down the line. They're both Asian, presumably Vietnamese because they speak both Vietnamese and English.

That leaves us with a white man at the top of the food chain, willing to go to any length, including murder, to keep his position. Another male, this time of mixed race but still male and part white, was next in line. Women and minorities exist to meet their needs, and in the case of Daughter, they are literally disposable. It's a pessimistic view of American society, but you can't blame Corey, who is himself a minority, for having it.

Van Dien's strong performance as a man who obviously loves his son but is a completely terrible person even without his habitual homicide, demanding unquestioning obedience and refusing to admit anything could possibly be his fault, holds much of the film together. That's not to say the rest of the cast isn't good; they have to be for this script to work. Despite the fact that the film is about Le's character, Van Dien is the star. However, the villain is frequently the best part to have.

Hana Kitasei, the cinematographer, deserves special mention. The daughter is almost entirely set indoors, with the exception of the opening and closing scenes. Kitasei creates the sensation of being trapped within the confines of the house, rather than simply being indoors. David Strother's frequently discordant score also contributes to the unease. Daughter is an intelligent and effective psychological horror film that is concerned with more than just thrills.

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