As is probably obvious from my past reviews, I have a weak spot for both Slasher and Bad Seed genre flicks. What I really liked about "Daddy's Girl" was that it violated a lot of my expectations and especially the formula that many BS movies (kind of an appropriate abbreviation) have followed in recent years, most notably the wildly overrated and amazingly dumb "Orphan."
Let's be real for a second. Yes, I know this is a Pierre David production, which almost spells HACKFLICK at the starting gate. This isn't an A-grade production. The acting is OK...it's competent, as is the direction. You're not going to get an Oscar worthy film that blows your doors off or even something as stylized as Fatal Attraction. It does, however, manage to keep your attention, and I believe that's largely due to Steve Pesce's script, which is more well-researched and plotted than this class of picture usually deserves.
Unlike the reviewer who raved about the script being abysmal, I thought there was a very logical progression to the problem child's (Gabrielle Boni) psychosis. Her back-story synced up well with her behaviors and motivations and she isn't presented for the first third of the film as a raving, terminally evil, maniacal psycho. Sure, she's got maladaptive behaviors, but the triggers for these behaviors turning lethal are plausible --- at least to an developing, unstable mind.
In addition, there are many twists that occur which you don't see coming and many false leads. And the kills are, while not 100% bulletproof, pretty damn clever and well within the means of a capable (and motivated) child.
To top it off, It doesn't end in the usual way, either. It's a strange ending, in that it doesn't hit any of the usual horror movie clichés.
And that's overall why I'd recommend it. Many have commented that Rosi's performance is one-note, horrible, and hammy --- I'd say it's pretty close to dead on considering how unstable her character is supposed to be. It's not an "actorly" or polished performance and that actually feels right here. Yes, she spouts villain one liners but....maybe she watches a lot of Bad Seed movies.
