The New Daughter

Wow what a stinker! Badly acted, badly written and badly directed. When a man moves his family to an isolated old house, you just know it is going to be one long cliché from beginning to end. Creepy noises and things that go bump just weren't enough to spark even moderate interest. Costner is wooden at the best of times, but he delivered some particularly unconvincing lines in this rotter. When the daughter starts acting up, she should have been sent away and when the mound was found, if should have been leveled, then maybe we wouldn't have had top sit through what seemed like 15 hours of tripe. The plot was so thin and old that the viewer never stands a chance of getting to know the characters, much less care whether they live or die. Quite the contrary in fact. One wished they had all died in the opening credits so we could have skipped straight to the infomercials. No explanation was given for much of what happened with only passing references to mounds in back yards, and people acting strangely around them. By the time the shooting started, I found myself wishing they had started with me!!!! I bet this was a "direct to video" because people demanding money back would have been embarrassing. If you like cheesy acting and 70's special effects, then the "creatures" should appeal. If you don't, stay clear of this appalling trash and play a board game instead. Rotten, don't bother!

I think the producer forgot to put the end scene in the movie, cause believe me it was awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The movie itself wasn't too bad, with the acting etc. But there was an entire lead up throughout the whole movie, then at the end the story line isn't even finished. Your left to guess for yourself. If i wanted to make the ending myself id make my own movie! You'd protect your son not your freaking retarded zombie daughter! Even though the dad said he wasn't going to leave the daughter, if he HAD to leave his son to save his daughter, at least give him some protection instead of just leaving him in the corner while freaky zombie people run around killing/possessing people!!

I've never been able to understand the success of Kevin Costner. I know he has his fans, but just come on now. (Dances with Wolves was good despite Costner's acting, not because of it.) In this movie, his "acting" is literally laughable. He has one facial expression--the same one you have when you're standing in line to get a coffee. Monsters attacking you and your family? No need to act terrified, just pretend you're eating a bagel. So a monster is standing right in front of you, and you're about to kill yourself and your daughter to save her from being some sort of "monster queen"? Just act as if you were examining screwdrivers at Lowe's. Your friend is dying of a slit throat, killed by your daughter? No need to act angry or upset. Why waste the energy? The same goes for when you're in bed, and you hear footsteps in the attic or on the roof above you. And also when you're in a car with someone, and they get pulled out of the car by a monster and killed right in front of you. No need to get panicky or anything--just keep a straight face. Does Jessica Simpson have a successful career in theoretical physics? Does Stephen Hawking hold 100-meter track records? Then why does Costner have a career as an actor? Seriously, somebody please tell me! None of this should be taken to mean that an actor--any actor--could salvage this abhorrent movie. This is the type of script that leaves you clueless as to what's going on for the first 90% of the film. This is done for a reason, and that reason is that if you knew how idiotic the plot was, you'd be unable to control your laughter. The plot makes no sense, and the movie is filled with stupidity. Why is Costner not the least bit angry when he meets the guy who sold him a house that led to the death of his daughter, knowing it could happen again? Why does Costner keep his family in the house, no matter what happens? Why did I sit through this entire movie?

I'm not a horror fan, not that i'm sure this is strictly a horror film, it's very much along the lines of an M. Night Shyamalan film, except there's not a tweest. Or is there, i'm not sure. So this film is very much one shake of The Village / Signs (take your pick), mixed in with a dose of Blair Witch, a sprinkle of Poltergeist and a dash of Left 4 Dead (the game). All mixed up you have a watchable movie that doesn't really deliver, but then at the same time did keep me engrossed enough to watch the whole movie, although I was performing several other activities so not to completely waste my time. Pretty forgettable, fairly regrettable but then such far from the worst movie out there and i'm sure fans of the genre will enjoy it to some extent.

So, I'd be lying if I said I expected anything more than it actually was. The movie was a bit typical - we are introduced to a single parent, the family has just moved to a deserted place, and then something awful happens. Honestly, unlike other slow movies, this movie lost me halfway. I completely lost interest but I gave the movie a chance before judging it. Costner's acting as a stressed father was believable, but all the other aspects of the movie were not. I can't speak for everyone, there are some people out there who actually enjoyed watching this. For those of you who like movies that make sense in the end, avoid watching this one.

Haven't seen a Kevin Costner movie in ages, I was looking forward to this solid horror. After his wife leaves him and his two kids, John James (Costner) and his children move to a isolated farm. But then, his daughter starts acting weird and it has something to do with a large mound near his home. Kevin Costner and the rest of the cast act well, but the star of the show is director Luis Berdejo for making a suspenseful, tense, well crafted thriller. Plenty of effective scares and a truly terrifying ending, The New Daughter is a solid horror film. 7/10. Rated PG-13 for strong violence.

Before I go ranting about the movie, I want you to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE not watch this. Even If you were dying and you had nothing better to do, just lay down and sing to yourself, but don't watch this movie. Now that I feeling a little better, I think I can begin reviewing the crap (movie). It starts of well but you can always notice the over- acting dosages being coerced by the actors. The little boy never smiles - he is the sad figure all along; the father - is frankly dumb; the teacher - desperate feature (here take my home number, do you want me to stay) and finally the protagonist - the teenage girl - I've one word for you - RUN. You are not meant to be acting, sure you look pretty, but that's that. When people ask you to do horror movies, say no. You have such bad eyebrows that I got scared when I saw your face up-close. Acting is a BUZZ-word; you don't fall in and around it anywhere. Movie starts with divorced dad with a son n daughter moving to a new house and then the daughter goes nuts. Keeps digging the mound for no good reason, turns nasty, shows deadpan eyes, emotionless feature. Son is mostly scared, mostly plays the matured role which is not expected. Mom never visits because she has a new boyfriend and Dad is confused about trying to ask kid's teacher out. However the teacher is self motivating and desperate. Need I say more?

After reading that this movie was being made I thought the worst....how many times have we seen an "A" list star lower themselves to the level of cheap, made for TV quality horror films which just seem to spend all of their budget paying for said star power & not actually being able to spring for some quality script or effects...well; let me introduce you to "The New Daughter". Firstly I would say that the money spent on getting a top quality actor such as Kevin Costner was well spent...he grounded this movie with his laconic, home town American drawl & really pulled me into the emotional heart of this film. The class of Costner's performance was exhibited no more finely than in the scenes where he was desperately searching for answers to his fears...his acting critics, who have in the past accused him of being "wooden" (& much worse) should see this film & re-evaluate their opinions of this fine actor. The children were also good & it was wonderful to see the great James Gammon in a quirky & pivotal supporting role. Usually in this kind of film, the "bad guy" (for want of a better term) tends to end up some lame, crappy alien or a figment of the characters imagination & the ending lets down a strong set up & middle section. In "The New daughter" however, the screenplay is strong & quality right up to the very final few seconds which had me sitting back in my chair saying out loud..."NO WAY!" I think Costner fans will rejoice at seeing this timeless American performer once again showing us the kind of less is better charisma the likes of which we haven't seen since the halcyon days of Steve McQueen & Paul Newman & the Costner detractors should swallow their pride & give him a chance...he may just surprise you. 7 out of 10.

In The New Daughter, Academy Award winner Kevin Costner plays a writer who moves with his two children to a large home in South Carolina. But John's (Costner) attempt at a fresh start is hampered by John (Kevin Costner) is a recently divorced writer than moves with his two children Louisa (Ivana Baquero) and Sam (Gattlin Griffith) to a large remote home in South Carolina to attempt a fresh start. But the adolescent Louisa is hardly impressed and blames her father for her uprooting. Without yet having established new friends, Louisa finds comfort in a large mound that is located on the property. The mound is curious in its existence and seems to have a power over the young girl. Even when grounded due to increasing bizarre behavior, Louisa sneaks out to spend time in the mud and leaves that make up the front yard heap. John feels as if he is failing as a father until he begins to learn of the shocking secret of the home and former house owner that may have a connection to his daughter's increasing belligerent and violent behavior. Upon investigation, John finds out that the mound is actually an ancient burial ground that contains an evil that threatens the life of his family. But his attempt to bulldoze and destroy the mass only unleashes devilish creatures that come after his family like ants protecting their home. The New Daughter was a surprise to this reviewer. It was surprise first that Kevin Costner elected to participate in his first horror film in a resume that lists over 45 individual films. But even more of a surprise was that his attached involvement in the film didn't catapult the film to a distribution or any fanfare when it hit the DVD shelves. The directorial debut by Luis Berdejo (writer of REC and Quarantine) The New Daughter is hardly a bad film even if it is a tad uninspired and predictable in its attempt to build suspense. Costner is definitely committed to his role as confused protector and father figure and his presence in the film gives credibility to a fairly conventional horror film. Towards the final chapters of the film we are introduced to the Del Toro like creatures that live in the dirt tunnels under the mound. Although their reveal is expected, one cannot help but wonder if the story would have been more effective if the evil remained unexposed or implied. Considering the amount of inferior horror films that hit theatres in mass each month and contain equal parts bad acting and routine slasher kills, The New Daughter is above the meridian. There are few kills in the film ( a cat, a babysitter ), but they are effectively spaced out and it was refreshing to see a horror try and develop a story rather than increase a body count (even if the overall results were a mixed bag). The New Daughter is one of those perfect movies to fall into late one Saturday night when nothing else is readily available. It isn't exactly pulse-pounding as the DVD cover would want you to believe, but it is worth a viewing and deserved a better fate than being a forgotten entry in Costner's history without even being properly presented in the first place. www.killerreviews.com

The just divorced writer John James (Kevin Costner) moves to an isolated old house in the woods in Mercy, South Caroline, with his teenager daughter Louisa (Ivana Baquero) and his son Sam (Gattlin Griffith). Louisa misses her mother Isabel and finds an Indian burial mound in the real estate, where she likes to go. Sooner Louisa changes her behavior but her teacher Cassandra Parker (Samantha Mathis) believes that the cause is puberty associated to the new lifestyle in a new place and without the mother. When John learns that a tragedy has happened in the house in the past, he hires the babysitter Mrs. Amworth (Sandra Ellis Lafferty) that was recommended by Cassandra and travels to Charleston to seek out the previous owner Roger Wayne (James Gammon) that tells details of the tragedy. When he returns, Mrs. Amworth is missing and sooner John finds what is happening with his daughter. "The New Daughter" is a conventional haunted house and possession low- budget film with a dreadful ending. "The New Daughter" seems to be made for TV, with characters and situations not well developed and excessive use of clichés and unreasonable attitudes. Louisa is an unlikable character and it is impossible to feel any empathy for her. I do not recall the last good movie of Kevin Costner and his career is really downhill. My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Possuída" ("Possessed")