An aura of unease permeates throughout Daughter. This is made even more pronounced by how normal things appear to be on the surface and how deliberate the pace is. It’s the divulging of small bits of information that brings out the detective in you. The clues are sparse but effective in setting the scene.
We find Sister (Vivien Ngô) held against her will in a random garage. We are not privy to the how and why she came to be in that situation. She soon meets Father (Casper Van Dien) who instructs her on how to behave to secure her eventual release. Against her will, she becomes a member of the family.
Mother (Elyse Dinh) and Brother (Ian Alexander) also inhabit the house. Their demeanour suggests that they too are there through malfeasance. Father rules the house with an iron fist and oftentimes spouts a mix of Roman mythology and doomsday rhetoric read from a tattered book he holds with the reverence of the Bible.
The battle of wits played out between Daughter and Father is delivered in a fascinating and ever-so-subtle way by both actors. You are given just enough information to guide you to a destination of your choice. Is it a tale of the strength of the human survival instinct or an examination of a warped psyche given full reign? Or then it might be something completely different.
Rob Hudson
Daughter has been released on all major Digital platforms across Australia and NZ, including iTunes and Google Play.
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