The New Daughter
Encyclopedia
The New Daughter is a 2009 horror film
and the directorial debut of Spanish screenwriter Luis Bernejo.
Based on the short story of the same name by John Connolly
, it tells the story of a novelist and his two children who encounter a malevolent presence when they move to a house in the country adjacent to a burial mound
.
The film stars Kevin Costner
, Ivana Baquero, and Samantha Mathis
.
), a recently divorced novelist, moves into an old house in the country with his teenage daughter, Louisa (Ivana Baquero), and young son, Sam (Gattlin Griffith
).
John and Louisa's relationship is strained and she accuses him of never loving her mother, and ruining everything. While exploring the surrounding fields and forest they come across a large burial mound
. Louisa is instantly attracted to it, whereas Sam is reluctant to go near it. On their first night in the house Louisa hears strange noises outside her bedroom window.
She does not see the humanoid creature lurking close-by on the roof. The next day Sam finds a loaded shotgun hidden inside the piano in the living room, Sam begins to point it at Louisa and his father, later John buries it in the garden.
In town, John learns that his house is locally famous for the disappearance of a woman who lived there. Later, he finds Louisa's pet cat torn apart near the house. Louisa returns to the mound after school and, while relaxing in the sunshine, hears strange noises and cuts away as we hear what sounds like something pouncing towards Louisa.
That night John finds a trail of muddy footprints leading from the open front door to the bathroom. Louisa is inside with the door locked, sitting in the tub, washing mud from her body and hair. The muddy water draining away turns red with blood (Later we find out in the film, this may be caused by the "mating ritual" by the creatures). Later that night, John finds Louisa sleepwalking
in her room. When he takes her back to bed he finds a strange doll made from straw which Louisa knows nothing about, inside of which is a dark ball containing a live spider.
The next morning Louisa comes down for breakfast wearing a short dress and make-up. When John asks her about the doll she claims not to have seen it before. When Louisa and Sam are at school Louisa is bullied by a preppy girl, and, once she gets home she rips the head off her doll, John finds a pile of muddy clothes in her room and, at the burial mound, the head of Louisa's toy doll along with the bloody remains of a blackbird and a nest of spiders in the drawer where Lousia's straw doll was kept.
Louisa is confronted and bullied by a preppy girl and Louisa starts eyeing the stairs directly behind the girl. He's called in to pick Louisa up from school when she complains of stomach pain and on the way in he sees the preppy girl who's arm is in a brace, which Cassandra says that the girl said "She fell down the stairs". When Sam's teacher, Cassandra (Samantha Mathis
), gives John her phone number, Louisa becomes territorial. That night, John sees Louisa emerging from the woods after having forbidden her to return to the mound. She has a rash and what looks like bite marks on the skin around her neck, and at dinner she eats in an animal manner and as though starved.
John finds an article about burial mounds on the internet and telephones an expert on the subject, Professor White (Noah Taylor
), but is ignored. He then reads about the previous owner of the house, Sarah Wayne: she disappeared one day without a trace, after having locked her teenage daughter in her bedroom from the outside. The daughter was eventually found alive and went to live with her grandfather, Roger Wayne (James Gammon
).
John leaves the children with a babysitter and goes to see Roger Wayne and discovers that he burned down his house with his granddaughter inside. Roger tells John that she wasn't his granddaughter anymore. In the girl's room, John finds a strange nest made from twigs and straw and a depiction of the burial mound scrawled on her wall.
While John is away, the babysitter is locked out of the house and killed by the creatures While Sam hides in his room as a mound-walker tries to get into his room. John arrives home discovers Louisa and asks what happened to the babysitter but she says she does not know. After the police have left; Louisa vomits on the hallway floor. John takes her to bed and she tearfully asks him if he's going to leave her like her mother did. He tells her he never will.
John dreams of a doorway on top of the burial mound and Louisa transforming into a creature. The next day he finds the same kind of nest in Louisa's room. He decides to take action, digs up the shotgun and hires a contractor to destroy the burial mound.
Before the demolition takes place, Professor White arrives and pleads with John to wait. He tells him of an ancient civilization who worshiped the burial mounds, believing them to be the homes of ancient Gods, or "mound-walkers".
He mentions a ritual involving the exchange of gifts, including small straw dolls, and the mound-walkers search for a young girl to mate with who could give birth to a new generation of deities and help them reclaim the earth. Horrified by this, John instructs the bulldozer
to start its work. When it cuts into the mound, the body of the babysitter is discovered. John is taken to the police station for questioning while Cassandra the teacher looks after the kids.
That night, when a Officer Ed Lowry (Erik Palladino
) drives John home, they are attacked and the officer is dragged out of the car screaming. John returns home to discover the house in disarray and finds Cassandra with her throat slit open. Before she dies she reaches for Louisa. Mound-walkers attack the house and John shoots and kills them.
After the attack, Louisa is missing, and her screams can be heard coming from the mound. John takes Sam up to his room and tells him to wait for the police, before kissing him goodbye. He goes to the mound to rescue Louisa and finds a tunnel leading into it. He sets a can of gasoline and the explosives from the postponed demolition by the entrance and crawls inside. He finds himself in a deep network of tunnels.
He finds Louisa in a pit, unconscious and covered in mud. When he carries her out the creatures start to howl and give chase. In the meantime, Sam comes out of the house, clutching a family portrait, and looks towards the mound.
John and Louisa escape the mound and block the entrance with a canister of gasoline, but there is another mound-walker waiting for them. Louisa collapses and begs her father not to leave her. John looks down at her and sees her beginning to transform into one of the creatures. John drops a flare into the gasoline and the mound goes up in a huge explosion.
After a while, in reflection on the family portrait that Sam is holding, we see a figure emerging slowly from the flames. Sam asks "Daddy?", although the figures identity is unclear. In the background several mound-walkers crawl down the walls of the house and the tree in the yard. Directly behind Sam a creature emerges from the side of the screen. Before it growls a sound is heard that may either be a gun loading or the creature moving.
.
along the Santee River just North of McClellanville, South Carolina
. While secondary filming was done in McClellanville and on the College of Charleston campus.
theatrical released on December 19, 2009 by Anchor Bay
. It has been released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on May 18, 2010.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and the directorial debut of Spanish screenwriter Luis Bernejo.
Based on the short story of the same name by John Connolly
John Connolly (author)
John Connolly is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.-Life and works:...
, it tells the story of a novelist and his two children who encounter a malevolent presence when they move to a house in the country adjacent to a burial mound
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
.
The film stars Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
, Ivana Baquero, and Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
.
Plot
John James (Kevin CostnerKevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
), a recently divorced novelist, moves into an old house in the country with his teenage daughter, Louisa (Ivana Baquero), and young son, Sam (Gattlin Griffith
Gattlin Griffith
Gattlin Tadd Griffith is an American child actor, best known for portraying Walter Collins in the 2008 film Changeling. He also had episodic roles on TV series such as Supernatural.Griffith was born to Tad and Wendy Griffith...
).
John and Louisa's relationship is strained and she accuses him of never loving her mother, and ruining everything. While exploring the surrounding fields and forest they come across a large burial mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
. Louisa is instantly attracted to it, whereas Sam is reluctant to go near it. On their first night in the house Louisa hears strange noises outside her bedroom window.
She does not see the humanoid creature lurking close-by on the roof. The next day Sam finds a loaded shotgun hidden inside the piano in the living room, Sam begins to point it at Louisa and his father, later John buries it in the garden.
In town, John learns that his house is locally famous for the disappearance of a woman who lived there. Later, he finds Louisa's pet cat torn apart near the house. Louisa returns to the mound after school and, while relaxing in the sunshine, hears strange noises and cuts away as we hear what sounds like something pouncing towards Louisa.
That night John finds a trail of muddy footprints leading from the open front door to the bathroom. Louisa is inside with the door locked, sitting in the tub, washing mud from her body and hair. The muddy water draining away turns red with blood (Later we find out in the film, this may be caused by the "mating ritual" by the creatures). Later that night, John finds Louisa sleepwalking
Sleepwalking
Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. Sleepwalkers arise from the slow wave sleep stage in a state of low consciousness and perform activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness...
in her room. When he takes her back to bed he finds a strange doll made from straw which Louisa knows nothing about, inside of which is a dark ball containing a live spider.
The next morning Louisa comes down for breakfast wearing a short dress and make-up. When John asks her about the doll she claims not to have seen it before. When Louisa and Sam are at school Louisa is bullied by a preppy girl, and, once she gets home she rips the head off her doll, John finds a pile of muddy clothes in her room and, at the burial mound, the head of Louisa's toy doll along with the bloody remains of a blackbird and a nest of spiders in the drawer where Lousia's straw doll was kept.
Louisa is confronted and bullied by a preppy girl and Louisa starts eyeing the stairs directly behind the girl. He's called in to pick Louisa up from school when she complains of stomach pain and on the way in he sees the preppy girl who's arm is in a brace, which Cassandra says that the girl said "She fell down the stairs". When Sam's teacher, Cassandra (Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
), gives John her phone number, Louisa becomes territorial. That night, John sees Louisa emerging from the woods after having forbidden her to return to the mound. She has a rash and what looks like bite marks on the skin around her neck, and at dinner she eats in an animal manner and as though starved.
John finds an article about burial mounds on the internet and telephones an expert on the subject, Professor White (Noah Taylor
Noah Taylor
Noah George Taylor is an English-born Australian actor.-Early life:Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew...
), but is ignored. He then reads about the previous owner of the house, Sarah Wayne: she disappeared one day without a trace, after having locked her teenage daughter in her bedroom from the outside. The daughter was eventually found alive and went to live with her grandfather, Roger Wayne (James Gammon
James Gammon
James Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
).
John leaves the children with a babysitter and goes to see Roger Wayne and discovers that he burned down his house with his granddaughter inside. Roger tells John that she wasn't his granddaughter anymore. In the girl's room, John finds a strange nest made from twigs and straw and a depiction of the burial mound scrawled on her wall.
While John is away, the babysitter is locked out of the house and killed by the creatures While Sam hides in his room as a mound-walker tries to get into his room. John arrives home discovers Louisa and asks what happened to the babysitter but she says she does not know. After the police have left; Louisa vomits on the hallway floor. John takes her to bed and she tearfully asks him if he's going to leave her like her mother did. He tells her he never will.
John dreams of a doorway on top of the burial mound and Louisa transforming into a creature. The next day he finds the same kind of nest in Louisa's room. He decides to take action, digs up the shotgun and hires a contractor to destroy the burial mound.
Before the demolition takes place, Professor White arrives and pleads with John to wait. He tells him of an ancient civilization who worshiped the burial mounds, believing them to be the homes of ancient Gods, or "mound-walkers".
He mentions a ritual involving the exchange of gifts, including small straw dolls, and the mound-walkers search for a young girl to mate with who could give birth to a new generation of deities and help them reclaim the earth. Horrified by this, John instructs the bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
to start its work. When it cuts into the mound, the body of the babysitter is discovered. John is taken to the police station for questioning while Cassandra the teacher looks after the kids.
That night, when a Officer Ed Lowry (Erik Palladino
Erik Palladino
Erik Palladino is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Dave Malucci in the NBC drama series ER. He was also a series regular on the critically praised FX Television series Over There.-Early life:...
) drives John home, they are attacked and the officer is dragged out of the car screaming. John returns home to discover the house in disarray and finds Cassandra with her throat slit open. Before she dies she reaches for Louisa. Mound-walkers attack the house and John shoots and kills them.
After the attack, Louisa is missing, and her screams can be heard coming from the mound. John takes Sam up to his room and tells him to wait for the police, before kissing him goodbye. He goes to the mound to rescue Louisa and finds a tunnel leading into it. He sets a can of gasoline and the explosives from the postponed demolition by the entrance and crawls inside. He finds himself in a deep network of tunnels.
He finds Louisa in a pit, unconscious and covered in mud. When he carries her out the creatures start to howl and give chase. In the meantime, Sam comes out of the house, clutching a family portrait, and looks towards the mound.
John and Louisa escape the mound and block the entrance with a canister of gasoline, but there is another mound-walker waiting for them. Louisa collapses and begs her father not to leave her. John looks down at her and sees her beginning to transform into one of the creatures. John drops a flare into the gasoline and the mound goes up in a huge explosion.
After a while, in reflection on the family portrait that Sam is holding, we see a figure emerging slowly from the flames. Sam asks "Daddy?", although the figures identity is unclear. In the background several mound-walkers crawl down the walls of the house and the tree in the yard. Directly behind Sam a creature emerges from the side of the screen. Before it growls a sound is heard that may either be a gun loading or the creature moving.
Cast
- Kevin CostnerKevin CostnerKevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
as John James - Ivana Baquero as Louisa James
- Gattlin GriffithGattlin GriffithGattlin Tadd Griffith is an American child actor, best known for portraying Walter Collins in the 2008 film Changeling. He also had episodic roles on TV series such as Supernatural.Griffith was born to Tad and Wendy Griffith...
as Sam James - Samantha MathisSamantha MathisSamantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
as Cassandra Parker - Noah TaylorNoah TaylorNoah George Taylor is an English-born Australian actor.-Early life:Taylor, elder of two boys, was born in London, England, the son of Maggie, a journalist and book editor, and Paul Taylor, a copywriter and journalist. Taylor's Australian parents returned to Australia when he was five, and he grew...
as Professor Evan White - Margaret Anne FlorenceMargaret Anne FlorenceMargaret Anne Florence is an actress, singer, and model based in New York City. Margaret Anne has been featured in major motion pictures, television, independent films, and on the New York stage. She frequently appears in national and international television commercials and print advertisements...
as Alexis Danella - James GammonJames GammonJames Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
as Roger Wayne - Erik PalladinoErik PalladinoErik Palladino is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Dave Malucci in the NBC drama series ER. He was also a series regular on the critically praised FX Television series Over There.-Early life:...
as Officer Lowry - Guy PerryGuy PerryGuy Perry is an American actor.Perry is best known for films and television series such as The New Daughter, Zoolander, The Shield, Nip/Tuck and True Blood....
as Alpha Creature
Production
The film is based partially on the short story of same name by Irish author John ConnollyJohn Connolly (author)
John Connolly is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.-Life and works:...
.
Filming
Filming for The New Daughter took place primarily at the Wedge PlantationWedge Plantation
The Wedge Plantation, which is also known as The Wedge or the William Lucas House, is a plantation about east of McClellanville in Charleston County, South Carolina. The plantation is a wedge-shaped property between the Harrietta Plantation and the Fairfield Plantation. The plantation house was...
along the Santee River just North of McClellanville, South Carolina
McClellanville, South Carolina
McClellanville is a small fishing town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 459 at the 2000 census. It is situated on the Atlantic coast, on land surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the sea and coastal...
. While secondary filming was done in McClellanville and on the College of Charleston campus.
Release
The New Daughter was given a limitedLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
theatrical released on December 19, 2009 by Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
. It has been released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on May 18, 2010.
External links
- The New Daughter at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...