The New Daughter

Frustratingly uneven, The New Daughter follows Kevin Costner’s John James as he and his two children (Ivana Baquero’s Louisa and Gattlin Griffith’s Sam) move into a remote house in South Carolina – with trouble ensuing as Louisa begins behaving strangely after discovering an old Indian burial mound near the property. Director Luis Berdejo, working from John Travis’ script, effectively exploits the inherently compelling nature of the film’s subject matter by establishing a palpable atmosphere of unease, as the creepiness of the storyline’s central locale is heightened by Berdejo’s use of unsettling sounds and images (eg what’s that shape crawling along the roof?) The exceedingly deliberate pace is, as a result, initially not as problematic as one might’ve feared, with the taut vibe persisting right up until the movie hits its progressively underwhelming midsection – which seems to be devoted primarily to Louisa’s perplexing change and John’s investigation into that burial mound. And although Berdejo has sprinkled the proceedings with a few appreciatively sinister interludes (eg the plight of the hapless babysitter), the increasingly familiar trajectory of The New Daughter‘s narrative ensures that the film runs out of steam in a lamentably demonstrable manner (and it certainly doesn’t help that the movie reaches and passes the point where one can buy that John and his kids would stay in the house). The film admittedly does pick up as the pieces start to fall into place and John takes a more proactive stance against the malevolent creatures, yet the irritatingly ambiguous conclusion – which leaves far too many unanswered questions on the table – ultimately cements The New Daughter‘s place as a well-intentioned misfire.

**1/2 out of ****