The New Daughter Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
The imaginative world of author John Connolly ("The Book of Lost Things") comes alive in this haunting
adaptation of one of his short stories. A father begins to worry when his young
daughter doesn't seem like herself, and he looks to the burial mound near
their new home for answers.
Kevin Costner, Horror movie star. That's the image surrounding the acclaimed actor over the
past few years, starring first in the disturbingly chilling Mr. Brooks and, now,
in The New Daughter, these pictures sandwiched around a more traditionally light and
cuddly Costner-esque effort in Swing Vote.
Though the actor's appeared in dark films in the past -- Revenge, for instance
-- he's best known for his work in celebrated Dramas, Westerns, and Baseball films, each a far cry
from the spooks that define The New Daughter. The Waterworld actor's
latest Horror/Thriller picture sees Costner as the father of two young children, one of whom
falls victim to a terrifying ancient force that threatens to tear his already-fragile family even
further apart. Though a picture that enjoyed but a limited theatrical run and must therefore find
its audience on home video, The New Daughter proves itself to be a decent genre outing
that's built around atmosphere first and visual scares last, a formula that suits this and others
like it well.
Louisa ponders, "Am I making a mountain out of a molehill, or is a molehill making a mountain
out of me, or is a mountain
making me out of a molehill?"
Recently-divorced father John James (Costner) is moving with his two children, Louisa (Ivana
Baquero) and Sam (Gattlin
Griffith), to a rural South Carolina home. Though the home appears beautifully idyllic, locals react
strangely when they learn
that the family has moved in, sharing with James rumors of dastardly deeds that have plagued
former residents. Louisa
discovers a mysterious mound out beyond the house, and soon thereafter her attitude begins to
change. She's
attracted to it to a point that seems unnatural, as if it holds a magnetic power over her, whether
against her will or not.
John, whose relationship with his daughter is already strained under the pressures of his divorce,
takes solace in Sam's
teacher, Cassandra (Samantha Mathis, Broken Arrow), with
whom he creates a bond --
to Louisa's disapproval. As James struggles to identify the new girl in his daughter's body, he
becomes increasingly aware of
the history of his new home and the dangers of the dirt mound, dangers that could ultimately tear
his family apart for good.
In the absence of anything beyond what is often deliberate and piece-by-piece plot construction
with no real visual payoff until the end, the filmmakers behind The New Daughter
instead employ a series of decidedly
creepy atmospherics throughout the film. The New Daughter is slow to build to be sure
but it's rarely outright dull. The picture never delves into traditional splatter territory, instead
choosing -- and smartly so -- to bring about its own brand of terror through what are today less
conventional but certainly far more dramatically and psychologically effective methods. Indeed,
The New Daughter relies on a sound design that at worst keeps the film moving
along and at best yields some spine-tingling and hair-raising implied scares alongside a few
scattered visual
reinforcements -- odd footprints, dirt-laden bodies, or insects -- that add a bit
more weight to what is nothing short of an abundance of Horror/Chiller/Thriller musical cues and
creepy sound effects. The result is a sound design that often encompass the entire soundstage
and allows the movie to
maintain a somewhat tense posture, even in those instances where there's little of note
happening on-screen. The payoff at the end is is worth the effort; it's somewhat anti-Hollywood
-- always a positive -- and also welcome in the broader spectrum of the picture's intense but
not visually-repulsive elements that give more credence to the film than were it just another
ordinary monster-mashing gore-fest throughout its entire length.
Stylistically, there's a "Shaymalan-lite" feel to The New Daughter. Much like a couple of
M. Night's
superior early films, Director
Luis Berdejo carefully
constructs his story in a family setting where one or two off-kilter events slowly blossom into
something far more deadly and unexpected, the picture taking its time to get to where its going,
but not to the detriment of flow. The only major difference is that there's no twist ending, at least
not in a traditional
Shyamalan style, the picture instead devolving into a more audience-friendly action sequence that
does, to the betterment
of the experience, stray from what convention says should be the film's ultimate resolution. There
are also elements of The Messengers --
family moves into a country house with a dark history -- and The Descent, though
The New Daughter is never as excessively gory as is Neil Marshall's excellent splatter
picture. Kevin Costner acquits himself well in what is a fairly reserved "everyman" role; he did
well playing another such character in Swing Vote, and even though there's obviously a
drastic shift in tone between the two pictures, the characters prove somewhat interchangeable at
least as far as the base elements of their personas go. Indeed, Costner seems to best excel when
portraying more relatable "everyman" characters but with some extenuating circumstance
tossed into the mix; his Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams is
the best example, but even his critically-drubbed effort in The Postman makes
for a good example of Costner doing well as a regular guy thrust into some extraordinary
situation. Both Ivana Baquero and Gattlin Griffith do well in their roles as Costner's children,
while Samantha Mathis and character actor James Gammon
impress in smaller supporting roles.
Anchor Bay brings The New Daughter to Blu-ray with an oftentimes striking 1080p,
2.35:1-framed transfer. Anchor
Bay's image is consistently sharp and pleasing to the eye, boasting wonderful detailing, strong
colors, and fine depth
throughout. The picture opens with some gorgeous exterior shots of nature and wildlife about the
South Carolina estate.
Anthills, a scaly-skinned frog, and various other outdoor elements are reproduced with a sparkling
barrage of color and intricate
details, qualities that remain throughout the picture. Interior scenes, whether bright or dark, also
reveal crisp and lifelike
textures on well-worn wood floors inside the house or cinder block walls inside the school building.
Colors are extraordinarily
vibrant -- appearing a bit warm and with a slightly reddish and golden tint -- reflecting Director Luis
Berdejo's intended visual
scheme that lends to
the picture a brighter tone rather than the generally drab and lifeless color palettes employed by
other genre pictures. Though
this transfer retains a fine layer of grain that only spikes over some darker scenes throughout the
movie, The New
Daughter
features a slightly glossy sheen but the image is no less film-like or eye-catching as a result. Blacks
are consistently deep but
sometimes crush object detail, and flesh tones occasionally
exhibit a slight red push. Though there's some blatant banding evident in one of the climactic
scenes, this is a still an
upper-echelon Blu-ray transfer from Anchor Bay.
The New Daughter features a quality PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack. Though not the
most elegant or absolutely
seamless presentation, there's plenty good throughout that brings the South Carolina atmosphere
to life while enhancing the
picture's extensive use of sound-as-unnerving-horror. Indeed, the picturesque South Carolina
exteriors are often abuzz in
environmental ambience that does well to immerse the listener into the locale, and as the track
picks up in intensity
and begins delivering a series of finely-tuned and sometimes spine-tingling sound effects to
heighten the tension, uncertainty,
and fear factor of the movie, Anchor Bay's uncompressed mix proves up to the challenge of
enhancing every aspect of the
picture's crucial sound design. The track makes strong use of the back channels in creating what is
at several junctures
throughout
an intense sonic experience, notably as thunder sharply cracks and naturally reverberates about
the listening area in both
chapters five and six and through generalized musical cues that are delivered crisply and with a
palpable rear-channel support
structure.
The New Daughter features a low end that doesn't come out to play on a consistent basis,
but the track implements a
bit of bass as-needed and does so to fine, though not earth-shattering, effect. The New
Daughter is a
sound-dependent picture, and Anchor Bay's uncompressed Blu-ray mix supports the picture's
crucial sonic elements very well.
The New Daughter's Blu-ray release yields a few extras, first among them a commentary
track with Director Luis Berdejo. He speaks extensively on his shooting techniques as well as his
desire to craft a Horror picture
with a brighter palette. He also shares his thoughts on the various shooting locales and the benefits
of filming in South
Carolina, some of the nuances of Kevin
Costner's performance, various Horror movie elements that proved necessary in the construction of
the film, and much more. Berdejo proves engaging and informative; those that
enjoy the movie will want to
follow up with his commentary. The New Daughter: Behind the Scenes (480p, 10:53) is a
nuts-and-bolts piece that features
cast and crew delving into the picture's themes and the complexities of the plot, the work of Director
Luis Berdejo, and the
quality of the film. Also included is a collection of 20 deleted scenes (480p, 22:25) and The New
Daughter theatrical
trailer (1080p, 2:18).
Considering the lack of a wide theatrical release and little-to-no appreciable marketing behind it,
The New Daughter is a
film that's going to have to rely on word-of-mouth and the presence of Kevin Costner to move
rental and sale units. The
picture's definitely a worthwhile endeavor, even if it is, more or less, a direct to video release. The
production values and
overall quality of the film say otherwise, though, but the DTV label is a stigma that might prove too
big a hurdle to overcome.
The
New Daughter may also not appeal to the hardcore Splatter-Horror fan base, either, but those
looking for a well-conceived
and smartly-constructed picture can do far worse. The New Daughter isn't exactly cerebral
cinema, but
its tense and well-crafted atmosphere does suit the movie well and rewards patient viewers with a
good, sometimes
exhilarating, often chilling, and never dull picture. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The New
Daughter delivers
an above-average A/V presentation, and the lack of a more substantial supplemental section comes
as no surprise considering
the film's lack of heavy marketing or theatrical success. The New Daughter definitely
comes recommended as a rental,
though fans of the film, Blu-ray
collectors, and other potential buyers can rest assured that the quality is Blu-worthy.
Amazon has an interesting BD-related "lightning deal" going on now: for a very limited time, you can buy the three-movie set Thrills and Chills Horror Blu-ray Bundle (comprised of The Crazies, Pandorum and The New Daughter) for only $40.99 (59% off MSRP). This ...
Anchor Bay Entertainment has announced The New Daughter, the English-language directorial debut for Luis Berdejo, co-writer of [rec]. Edition details are still pending. This horror thriller stars Kevin Costner and Ivana Baquero (Ofelia from Pan's Labyrinth). It ...
