Daddy's Girl

A girl named Nina is hospitalized for cutting herself. The hospital psychiatrist is called to treat her. The girl says it was an accident. The mother is afraid they'll take away the girl from her, so she's a bit hostile even. She thinks he'll think of her as a bad mother.

We learn more about the psychiatrist. His wife killed herself by cutting herself in the bathtub. Now someone or something keeps opening the bathtub faucet every night. The plumber thinks it's the spirit of the wife that's trying to communicate with the dr. The dr's mom is in the hospital gravely ill from some type of blood disorder. So the guy isn't in the best of shape. He's taking anti-depressants and is being treated by his boss.

As Nina walks around the hospital at night, we learn that she's attracted to blood. She meets a boy who's getting a blood transfusion and asks if she can have some. She also walks into the room of the dr's mother. Later that night the woman dies. That just turns him more into a wreck. Nina's mother empathizes. They sleep together. His boss warns him no to get involved with patients. As it turns out, the dr's wife was also a patient of his.

Now though, Nina completely flips out. She cuts another girl to drink her blood. And she starts obsessing with the dr. and stalking him. During psych sessions she blurts out that he's sleeping with her mother. The sessions are monitored and recorded. That gets him suspended from work. And now Nina gets more aggressive. We do learn more about her and how she came to be that way.

Cravings was a big surprise. It's not some lousy vampire movie. It's highly original and well-made. It's basically a dramatization of the hoax-diagnosis Renfield's syndrome. Nina would be the classical case of a patient with this disorder, if it existed. And the movie is very effective in portraying it. Unfortunately because Nina is likable when she's sane, it's not fun to see her go off the deep end. The portrayal of the mother in her time of need getting together with the dr. in his time of need was well-handled. Some surprising things happen along the way. The ending, too, is unusual and courageous.

Cravings is so much better than the score on IMDb would lead you to believe, as long as you don't expect a crappy vampire movie. A shame also that D.J. Evans, the writer/director hasn't gotten more work. Considering that he had little experience prior to this movie, it makes Cravings even more remarkable.

The psychiatrist Stephen (Richard Harrington) has just returned to his work in a hospital after his wife and former patient committed suicide in the bathtub of their apartment. His mother is in the hospital with a serious illness and Stephen is vulnerable and dependable on drugs and is trying to sell his apartment. The director and his friend Eisner (Mark Lewis Jones) offers more days of medical leave to Stephen but he refuses. He is assigned to treat Nina (Jaime Winstone), a teenager that self-inflicts cuts on her body and her mother Liz (Louise Delamere) does not help, giving no information about her daughter. Stephen gets involved with Nina´s problem and learns that she might have Reinfield syndrome. What will Stephen do?

"Daddy's Girl" is a sinister, original and underrated vampire film. The plot is very well developed, making the story believable, and the surprising conclusion is absolutely non-commercial. This film is for adults that look forward to original movies and it is easy to understand the apparently silly attitudes of Stephen. He is absolutely vulnerable with the losses of his wife and mother; wants to help his patients; is needy and is easily seduced by Liz; cannot call the police since he was unethical and with the investigation, he would lose his job and his license. It is funny and ridiculous to read that he has a psychic plumber and prefers to ignore his advices. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sede de Sangue" ("Thirsty for Blood")

This movie was a pleasant surprise for me! If you are debating about watching this film because you think it its a "vampire" movie (due to inaccurate reviews/synopses in many locations) i am happy to tell you this movie has nothing to do with the vampires and only minimally dabbles in issues related to the supernatural.

Cravings (Daddy's Girl in UK) is actually a well written, acted, and cerebral thriller about a psychiatrist trying to help a mysterious teenage girl he believes may be suicidal. However, this doctor has some emotional issues of his own to deal with, and he gets to deeply and personally involved with the patient and her single Mother. The girl initially appears in the hospital as a possible suicide attempt because she cut hr wrist, and he believes the girl may be suffering from depression.

The shocking, stomach churning, and very dangerous truth behind his patient's increasingly bizarre and dangerous behavior is far worse than depression. When the doctor finally realizes the shocking and very serious depth of the girls illness, he finds that he has become trapped with the girl and her increasingly dangerous manipulation. When he finally asks for help, its too late, because he allowed himself to break the rules of medical ethics and crosses the line. The ending is a satisfying and completely unexpected twist! The movie starts moving quickly, and I enjoyed the director's skillful method of steadily ratcheting up the tension from beginning to end a PERFECTLY steady pace. I mean there is no lull or boring parts. It snagged me in within the first few minutes. The movie truly felt like it was accelerating, exposing me to a few mildly disturbing events at first but then things get continuously more shocking, disturbing, and eventually rather gory right until the credits roll.

Excellent movie! If you like deep psychological thrillers or horror films then this is a must pick up!