Daddy's Little Girl

DADDY'S LITTLE GIRL
Writer/Director:Chris Sun
Starring:Michael Thomson, Christian Radford, Billi Baker
Availability:DVD Available from Breaking Glass Pictures
Rating:

   Chris Sun, you truly are a sick, twisted little man.  I am at such a loss for words, that I am almost compelled to end my review right there.  Daddy's Little Girl is a film I've been wanting to see for quite some time.  As a father myself, the themes of the film appealed to me.  None of us truly know what we are capable of when we are truly pushed to our extremes.  None of us want to believe that we have evil in our hearts, but I believe evil exists in everyone.  This Aussie thriller examines this very idea, and the results are compelling to say the least.

    The story has parallels to last year's Big Bad Wolves.  It's the story of a man who simply wants to get revenge on the man who raped and killed his daughter.  Without spoiling it, I will say that the identity of the killer in this one does add a certain level of emotional gravitas to the whole thing.  Like every great revenge movie, the trick is getting your audience to care for the characters.  If the audience doesn't feel the revenge is earned, then you end up with a film that's ultimately a failure.

    Well, that's ultimately my main problem with Daddy's Little Girl.  Does the movie have great moments?  Certainly it does.  If you are a gorehound or torture porn fanatic, the final 30 minutes will more than satisfy.  We are talking some of the most brutal, cringe-worthy torture I've seen in a movie in quite some time.  In a marketplace saturated with this sort of shit, I consider that to be quite the accomplishment.  Plus, Michael Thomson's performance as Derek, the vengeful father, was quite strong.  Still, this feels like two movies at odds with each other, and neither one is entire successful.

    The first hour is all build-up to the film's grisly climax.  Unfortunately, we still don't truly understand these characters.  We know very little of Derek's relationship with his daughter.  A little backstory for the killer would have been nice.  Look, I'm not the type of guy who requires my art to be spoon fed to me, but if you're going to make your film a character driven piece, I think it's certainly a good idea to make sure we are invested in the characters.  It's certainly never boring, and it does create some good tension once you realize what's going to happen, but it just feels underdeveloped.

    Now, with as wonderfully demented as the torture sequences are, they just don't fit with the tone of the film.  There are so many intensely dramatic moments in the first hour, that the final act's over the top Grand Guignol moments feel totally out of place.  While it's easy to identify with Derek's actions, I'm not convinced this absolute insanity was in him.  Plus, there are moments that scream implausibility.  If the entire movie would have had this tone, it would have been a terrific piece of darkly funny torture porn.  Instead, what we have here is a movie with a real identity crisis.

    I should point out that, even though it seems I've been harsh on this film, it is definitely one that I would still recommend you see at least once.  Even though it's a bit of a jumbled mess, there are still some strong moments here.  Chris Sun shows some real gifts behind the camera, and I'm certainly interested in seeing what he does next.  I will say the final moments are a must for gorehounds.

    Until next time, my fellow freaks and weirdos...