Daddy's Girl (1996)

reviewed by
Richard Scheib


DADDY'S GIRL

Canada. 1996. Director - Martin Kitrosser, Screenplay - Steve Pesce, Producers - Richard Brandes & Pierre David, Photography - M. David Mullen, Music - Parmer Fuller, Production Design - Brian McCabe. Production Company - Image Organization/Ventana Productions. Gabrielle Boni (Jody Mitchell), William Katt (Don Mitchell), Michele Greene (Barbara Mitchell), Roxana Zal (Karen Connors), Peggy McCay (Grandmother Jacqueline Jones), Mimi Craven (Rachel Landers), Ruth Manning (Victoria Hemp), Whip Hubley (Mark Springer), Lindsay Ridgeway (Claire Landers), Madison Mason (William Tucker)

Plot: Young Jody Mitchell clings to the life of happiness offered by her adopted parents. She kills her school principal who threatens to send Jody away to another school. And when her step-parents start arguing over her mother Barbara's having to financially support her father Don as he tries to fulfil his dream of designing toys and people start advising her to leave him, Jody kills again to protect her perfect family.

This is one of a series of psycho-thrillers produced by Canada's Pierre David. David made his name with a series of thoroughly dreary sequels to David Cronenberg's `Scanners' and has since put out such (usually direct-to-video) releases as `Stalked' (1994), `The Paperboy' (1994), `The Secretary' (1994), `The Nurse' (1995), `The Dentist' (1996), `Man of Her Dreams' (1996) and `Cupid' (1997). All of these shuffle around the themes and basic formulas patented by much more successful thrillers like `Fatal Attraction', `The Stepfather' and `The Good Son'. Unfortunately David's films are all made to a plodding predictability of script and direction, seemingly irrespective of who is behind the camera. Each set-up is telegraphed well in advance in a way that effectively robs them of any suspense. `Daddy's Girl' is as formulaically routine as the rest of David's films. Young Gabrielle Boni in striking fire-red hair does manage to conjure up an effective nastiness on screen.

Copyright Richard Scheib 1998


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