Mark Reviews Movies: DAUGHTER

Daughter, Dark Star Pictures

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Review by Mark Dujsik | February 9, 2023

The most unsettling thing about Daughter is that we know the premise—or, better, the one established by the film's antagonist—cannot be true. It is improbable on its face and, based on our perspective of the world and what we see of the events here, likely impossible. That doesn't matter, because a person's perception defines one's reality, and the reality of the isolated world of this story is one in which the improbable and impossible are the only truths.

To put it a bit more plainly, this is a tale about a brainwashed boy, known only as Brother (Ian Alexander), who has been raised by his father, known by demand as Father (Casper Van Dien), to believe that the air has been poisoned, that people are sick and inherently corrupt, and that this kid will save the world. The nature of that "saving," perhaps, is displayed in the opening scene, in which father and son, wearing gas masks, chase down a young woman and pummel her with a hammer.

This film, written and directed by Corey Deshon (making his feature debut), presents itself as a thriller but becomes about the limitations of knowledge. It revolves around a different young woman, whom Father dubs his son's new Sister (Vivien Ngô)—a replacement for the previous sister, whom Father, in the eyes of the son, "cleanses." She has been abducted and is kept tied up in the garage, until she learns to comply with his demands. As along as she cooperates, Sister can leave in a couple years, Father promises, when Brother is old enough to face his destiny.

Most of the story observes the restrictions of Brother's knowledge, since he has been taught through lessons and stories about the "truth" of a world he has barely seen, and Sister's attempts to subvert Father's teachings, while still making it seem as if she's following her captor's orders. Mother (Elyse Dinh) tries to convince Sister not to push her luck.

As a logical thriller, the film isn't entirely convincing, but any sense of logic has left this house and these confined characters a long time before we meet them. It's better to see this material as an allegory about perception and knowledge, mainly in how those things can be warped by belief (Father's teachings are non-denominational kind of mix of conspiracy theory and mythology) and the power of authority. Van Dien is quite frightening here as a man who may or may not believe the things he preaches, although Father is clearly determined that they define the person his son will become.

There are no answers to be found about the basis and purpose of Father's teachings in the finale of Daughter. That's probably for the best, because the film's final shots, which insinuate that the boy isn't the only one whose awareness of the world and human behavior is naïve, offer a final insinuation about the only thing that matters about the power of those methods.

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