Daddy's Girl (2018)

A young woman held captive by her stepfather becomes the focus of a female vigilante.

Director:

Julian Richards

Writers:

Timothy Hill, Sean Hogan (Additional Writing by)

Stars:

Jemma Dallender, Costas Mandylor, Britt McKillip

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jemma Dallender	...	Zoe
Costas Mandylor	...	John Stone
Britt McKillip	...	Jennifer
Jesse Moss	...	Deputy Scott Walker
Mark Arnold	...	Sheriff
Diana Care	...	Danny
Micavrie Amaia	...	Annie
Annie Quigley	...	Staci Jones
Cherise Silvestri	...	Librarian
Heather Rome	...	Mrs. Calhuan
Alexander McMorran	...	Bar Fly
John Moraitis	...	Bobby Grimes
Natia Tsitsilashvili	...	Zoe's Mother (as Natia Tsitsishvili)
Sophio Babilodze	...	Young Zoe
Ana Imnadze	...	Mother in the Food Market (as Ani Imnadze)

Storyline

A young woman held captive by her stepfather becomes the focus of a female vigilante and a rookie cop. When the father is identified as a serial killer their attempts to rescue the woman backfire, resulting in a terrifying confrontation with the killer.

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Taglines:

Every Girl Loves Her Daddy

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

User Reviews

Story may seem to be about torture. It luckily does not show any of it. The story has more to it than it superficially shows, albeit a morale is not the proper word

Saw this at the Brussel International Fantastic Film Festival 2019 (BIFFF for intimates). The director appeared before the screening for an introductory address. He told us that the script was originally written more than 10 years ago. It was at the time of SAW and the like, think "torture porn" as the main keyword. That version has been rewritten in the meantime to better adapt to changes in audience appreciation. The director considered this a logical consequence of the post-#MeToo era we live in nowadays.

The movie is well made and important steps in the proceedings are clearly shown, letting us live and feel along with the main protagonists. The "daddy" role is clear, given his history in Irak. But his daughter Zoë seems continuously in limbo. On one hand, she is very cooperative in bed with her father, as well as helping him to catch new girls. Both tasks are not natural for a daughter to do. On the other hand, she works against him by putting an end to the misery of one girl, though unclear why she helped specifically this one and not of her predecessors who similarly ended miserably. At another moment, she even attempted to put an end to it all.

Regardless of her motives to escape her current way of living, we get gradually the impression that Zoë has inherited some of the sadistic DNA of her father. We see her incidentally watch the tortures through an opening in the door (yet she usually stops looking very soon). This suspicion grows on us and is confirmed in the final scene, where she makes a totally different appearance (no details, no spoilers).

The implied message (morale is not the right word) of this movie is that not only men are sadists, seeking a form to consistently dominate women. Women have this "capability" too, though it can manifest in subtly different forms. The world is not so black and white as we are inclined to think. Given that the main protagonists are unsual in their purposes and their cooperation, one can derive several meanings from this movie. Superficially, we see a man chasing women and know (not see) him ending their lives in a dreadful way. But it is not a late SAW sequel. It brings hidden layers that still make it an interesting watch, and it bends several genre rules too. I wonder whether these not so obvious elements are intentional, or that I construe something out of nothing.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daddy's Girl

Filming Locations:

Tbilisi, Georgia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zee Studios International, Seahorse FIlmhouse

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1