Daisy

Director - Michael S. Rodriguez (Lamb Feed, Lake of Shadows)

Starring - Sparkle Soojian (Wolf Corps, Strange Files), Michael Wainwright (Death House, Lilith), and Matt Macedo (The Sinister Strain, A Portrayal of a Subtle Suicide)

Release Date - 2024

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Pray for dawn"'

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Many years ago I befriended filmmaker Michael S. Rodriguez when he was promoting his horror short Night of the Sea Monkey: A Disturbing Tale. Since then he has became one of my favorite indie filmmakers with films like Lamb Feed, Homewrecked, and Lake of Shadows. That’s why I was so quick to accept his offer to review his newest film when he reached out to me. The film, Daisy, is a horror film centered around a cryptid which brought me back to his first short. I was excited to check this one out and want to take a moment to thank Michael for sending it over my way for review! 

      The film follows a mechanic who is trying to run his father’s garage but is not doing that great of a job when a young couple walk in looking for a thermostat for his antique truck. The man kills them and then hides their bodies. The father and brother of one of the victims goes searching for them and visits the mechanic where they reach a dead end. The brother suspects the man of something sinister and returns later to discover that he is hiding a creature in the back of the garage and has been feeding travelers and the stranded to it at night. 

      I knew absolutely nothing about Daisy prior to watching it. I saw the artwork and the tagline but that was all I had to go on as I went into this one. With that being said, this is probably my favorite film from Michael. I’m not too familiar with the lore around the cryptid that he chose to center the film around but I admire the fact that he used one that has not been overdone like bigfoot or mothman. While I’m a huge fan of cryptids and love the lore around them, I’m a little tired of the found footage flicks focused on bigfoot or mothman. The acting in this one is very well done. I liked a lot of the characters and while I liked the acting I can safely say that there was some uneven performances. Michael Wainwright and Matt Macedo makes the film for me. While Wainwright brings an intense performance that could easily be compared to classis horror villains, Macedo brings in some much needed humor that does break up the film a bit. It’s not a horror comedy but some random moments of humor goes a long way with films as dark and brooding as this one. The supporting cast is solid but some are not as experienced in front of the camera as others resulting in some uneven scenes. The story for this one works especially for a monster movie. I liked the idea of a soldier finding a creature in the sand and bringing it back stateside only to discover that it’s monster with an insatiable appetite. He loves her and does everything he can to provide for her but he knows that eventually something bad is going to come from this. The creature is a human/bat hybrid which is reminiscent of Ghilan in middle eastern folklore but it’s refreshing seeing something aside from the more popular cryptids . While I enjoy the originality of the film, I did find some of the scenes to be a little long winded. A little more trimming would have helped the pacing out tremendously. Finally, the film has some great practical and make-up effects. I loved the look and design of the creature and the deaths are what you would expect from a monster that feeds on humans. It’s a bloody and violent film that horror fans can appreciate. Overall, Daisy is much more menacing than the title suggests. The film has a great cast, a fantastic story, and a memorable creature design. Fans of classic monster movies will want to see this one. I highly recommend it.