Daddy's Girl

Whatever you think of this - thriller/torture porn/craziness - one thing is clear: Costas Mandylor had the time of his life shooting this. The man you may know from the Saw franchise plays a wicked character in this one, where family is more than important.

It is a tough watch and I have to admit, while it is brutal and has some cringe worthy scenes in it (yes I always remembered this is only a movie, still you can't completely detach can you?), I was happy it was edited in a way, that gave you some time to breache. The actors overall are really good in it and the original way they were going to end the movie probably would have elevated the whole thing, but we didn't get that. Instead we get something more predictable, which is also fine overall (for the other ending watch the vlog on the disc, won't spoil it here for you)

This should properly be called "Step Daddy's Girl", which isn't quite as disgusting as the incest implied here initially. Sadly, everything else is disgusting. The villain of the piece is a serial killer who served in Iraq. It wasn't his wartime experience that turned him into what he is, rather he appears to have joined the military for the express purpose of killing and torturing, not necesssarily in that order.

Now he is located in rural America living with his stepdaughter, her mother having committed suicide some years before. Although he isn't particularly attractive, he finds it remarkably easy with a little help from his companion to pick up reasonably attractive young women, take them home, and torture them. There is no suggestion even of rape, just pure sadism and bloodlust.

Fortunately, he is soon recognised by a local lawman who also served in Iraq, although he looks far too young to have done so. There is a resolution and a somewhat unusual final scene, but apart from that, this modern day film noir in colour has no merit at all.

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.

My first and foremost issue with this torture porn would be it's similarity to those 70's and 80's Italian/Spanish movies which gave you a bevy of beautiful women and the worlds ugliest leading men.

Now I could go with the daughter as the pick up for the victims, but John was no Casanova and hardly carry the appeal that would attract even a goth younger woman. So I didn't buy the BS with the second victim being picked up by John period, much less in the time it took Zoe to order a drink.

I understand that these weak and pathetic writers will use attractive young women to fill theater seats, but come on now and start using average looking babes that this slug might be able to pull, and stop with the BS.

Besides the cheesy dialog, and so so acting the only plus side that I got from this, would be the cinematography, which was for the most part clear and crisp. Oh. And Pleeeeaaassseee what was up with the cop whispering his lines like he was trying to seduce everyone that he spoke to??

Not something that I would recommend, nor rewatch.

Story is so sick with father f her girl and random pick up girls and torture them for enjoyment. If you like sickness theme, this is your choice.