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Film: Daughter of the Sun
Year: 2023
Director: Ryan Ward
Writers: Mackenzie Leigh and Ryan Ward
Starring: Nyah Perkins, Ryan Ward and Lennox Leacock
Review:
This was a film that I learned about thanks to the Nightmares Film Festival. This kicked off the second day as the 2 PM film. I read the synopsis ahead of seeing this and just perused its Internet Movie Database page to see if I recognized any of the actors. I got to see this for its Ohio premiere.
Synopsis: a 12-year-old girl lives life on the run alongside her father who has Tourette Syndrome. Desperately seeking a normal family life, she befriends a group of outcasts who want to harness a volatile supernatural power her father is hiding.
Let me start this by introducing our characters. The girl is Hildie (Nay Perkins). Her father is Sonny Johnns (Ryan Ward). He has Tourette’s as the synopsis states and this causes him to be let go from his job. A co-worker was mocking him and then got upset with Sonny when he wouldn't accept his apology. He also doesn’t fully understand the ticks. This causes the father and daughter to hit the road.
Hildie doesn’t like that they’re constantly on the move due to her father not being able to keep a job due to his anger. She has other issues as well. She gets her first period at school so she leaves. At school she has a boyfriend, Glover (Lennox Leacock), who genuinely cares about her. He keeps her company when she leaves school that day. There’s also another complication. Sonny’s family is looking for them so he doesn’t want the phone plugged in. There’s a call, signifying that they know where they are so this pushes them to leave.
Hildie is upset by this, because as the synopsis says, she wants stability. They travel as long as Sonny can stay away and sleep in a field for the night. It is here that he makes an interesting discovery. Glover hitched a ride with them. They’ve gone too far to take him back. It also seems that his homelife isn’t great either so he states no one will come looking for him. I get the idea that this is also the late 1970s or early 80s, so they could disappear into the wind.
It is at the next motel that our trio now meets another wandering group. Their leader seems to be Samara (Courtney Sawyer), who has Down’s Syndrome. Her brother keeps everyone together as well, Teresis (Ryan Giesen). Sonny also meets Aurora (Laura Mac), who has a son. These two take a liking to each other and Sonny sees that he can help the boy, as he is non-verbal. Aurora also asks that when they hit the road, if they’re going east, she wants to come.
Leaving is delayed when Sonny’s fuel pump goes out. It will take time and money to fix. Our trio gets accepted into the group and it makes Hildie not want to leave. It gives the stability she is craving. There is something else here that is that Sonny might be harboring a secret. He can heal things that are hurt or even dead. It takes its toll on him. This group also might know more about him than he realizes.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start then is that this isn’t necessarily a horror film. It is listed as a drama and science fiction. I’m still including it here due to the dark places that it goes to in the end. I can see people not considering this, especially for end of year lists. What I’ll say though is that it is at least adjacent in my opinion.
Now that I’ve got that out there, let me delve deeper into what we’re getting. This at the heart is a character study of Hildie and Sonny. We never fully learn everything, but we’re given enough where you get an idea. They don’t have money. They’re nomadic due to that. Sonny can’t keep his anger in check and I get it. His condition is something that he’s probably been mocked his whole life for. What’s hard here is that he has a daughter to consider and that falls by the wayside. It is tough to make ends meet and she’s forced to grow up faster than she wants. I thought Perkin and Ward did a great job here. Their relationship is believable. I can also see both of their sides.
Let’s then shift over to something that gets it close to the horror genre. This traveling group reminded me of the True Knot from Doctor Sleep. They do just for the fact that both are transient. In this film, they aren’t energy vampires or whatever they were in the Stephen King work. If anything, I’d consider this group to be more like ‘carnies’. They stay more in a specific area here, but travel as a large group. I did notice that the majority have an ailment of sorts. One is blind, another uses a wheelchair and then Samara also has Down’s Syndrome. What I like here is that she’s their leader, telling them what they’ll do next. She’s also a prophet and draws what she sees. That reminded me of the little girl from Children of the Corn.
The last part of the story is the supernatural element here. I love the depth they create for the characters. Sonny has this ability to heal, but he has Tourette’s. Samara is a prophet. The blind man of the group can get around and is their cook. I love this idea that maybe they’re different for a good reason. They’d be perfect human beings if they didn’t have that. Not saying that they aren’t in their own way, but it almost is that due to their powers, it has affected other parts of them. Samara’s group also reveals themselves to be cult like where things go.
I then want to shift to talk about the rest of the cast. I like the Leacock character. It bothered me and it is also hard to say that I don’t know if I fully buy that no one would come looking for him. What I like about him is that he’s not entranced by this group and he says things to Hildie. She ignores it though, wanting this place to be perfect for what she wants. Sawyer was good along with Giesen, Mac and the rest of the group. They all feel like real characters. The montage sequences of them accepting the trio is heartfelt and then gets scary as more gets revealed. Credit to the cast overall.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I don’t recall them saying when this takes place, which works in its favor. It does feel like a timeless film there. I do love that everyone has just a layer of dirt on them. They work with their hands and make their way. They capture this with framing and cinematography. This is limited to the effects that are used. It also doesn’t need them. When we see Sonny and Hildie using their powers, what they do there is simple, but effective. We know what is happening without needing to see more. Other than that, I thought the sound design and music fit what was needed.
In conclusion, not everyone will consider this a horror film. I’m not entirely sure that I do. There are elements and where this goes that add to that emotional feel. It is at least adjacent in my opinion. What carries this is the acting. Perkin, Ward, Sawyer and Giesen lead the way with the rest of the cast pushing them to where they end up. I do like how this was made. The cinematography and framing capture that transient, road movie feel. Again, won’t be for everyone, but this is a solid indie film that should be checked out if what I’ve said are things you enjoy.
My Rating: 7 out of 10