By Forris Day Jr.
Back in the 1970s the creepy killer girl on the block was Carrie. She was, hands down, the one girl in the movies you would not want to come across in real life. Heck, back then I was afraid to talk to regular, normal girls. They scared me. I’d would have certainly been screwed if I came across Carrie. Now I’ve grown older and hopefully wiser, but I still can’t figure out what sets women off sometimes, so I always take the careful approach. “Slaughter Daughter” renews my fear of coming across a Carrie type of girl that you just can’t reason with. A smile on her face and MURDER in her eyes!
Farah (Nicola Fiore) is a troubled former beauty queen. She’s got the looks, the smile and seemingly the life everyone wants but inside her head there is a storm brewing. Things start falling apart when she is stood up on her wedding day and she starts losing her mind. She has a troubled relationship with her Mom (Leesa Rowland) and her Dad has passed away. Now Mom is engaged to her Dad’s best friend shortly after his death and Farrah does not like it. She cuts one of her fingers off as she becomes more unstable. She is sent to Bellevue Hospital for psychological treatment where after a few months she is released to be at her Moms wedding which is to be held on the rooftop of their apartment building. In the meantime Farrah becomes obsessed and falls in love with a serial killer who is in prison. She visits him and is soon driven by images of him teaching her how to kill. Has she been a good student? Watch Slaughter Daughter to find out.
Nicole Fiore shines in the role of Farah. Very creepy and believable. She really pulled off the role to a tee. Leesa Rowland as Farrah’s mom Phyllis is as evil a mom anyone could ask for. Conniving, sadistic and sexy only begins to describe this vicious vixen. Danny Morales plays Farrah’s brother David was a stand out actor in my mind too. He was likeable and also believable. I was a little confused with the relationship between Farrah’s Mom and Reema (Deborah Das). At first I thought Reema was Farah’s sister but then it is revealed that there is a lesbian relationship between Mom and Reema. Regardless, Deborah Das is wonderful in the role. The cast is rounded out with Ruby LaRocca as David’s quirky girlfriend Apple, who may have gotten involved with the wrong family, and Mike Connel as the Groom-to-be. Connel, like his counterpart Phillis has his own agenda, and lets just say there is no Father-of-the-Year award on his horizon. Tim Dax plays the serial killer, a very unique looking guy with a shaved head and solid black tattoo covering his head like a helmet. He is one scary looking guy, perfect for the role. Overall there is good acting throughout the movie. Great work on the special effects such as when Farah cuts her finger off. It made me cringe. A strong script for sure, great lighting, and nice locations in the Bronx make Slaughter Daughter a strong independent film. I’d be remise if I didn’t mention the score. It is one of the best I’ve heard in an independent in a long time, reminiscent of the old 70s TV crime dramas. Well done. Horror fans rejoice, there are still great scary movies being made!
Rating: 6/10 – “She’ll love you…to death”
