DAUGHTER

In a small town in southern Belgium, Deme and Bernard manage an old hotel for one purpose: the abduction of healthy young people to serve as a food source for their teenager, Marie. One morning while out searching for a new source, Bernard meets Cyril, a free-spirited poet who reminds him of his own youth as an aspiring writer, a goal he has long left behind. Bernard feels refreshed by Cyril’s adventuresome spirit and the two connect. Still, Bernard has his fatherly responsibilities to bring home food for his child. The trusting Cyril accepts Bernard’s invitation to stay at the hotel. There, Deme takes over the violent preparation of Cyril’s blood to feed Marie where she lives in a closet. As Bernard partakes in this, his connection with Cyril weighs on him, forcing him to question the sustainability of this life. The blood meal brings about Marie’s transformation from violent monster to a beautiful child unaware of her dark side, a persona that will only last for a few hours. When Marie escapes to pursue her curiosity in some passing teenagers, her painful transformation back to her unpredictable monster self begins. Bernard and Deme must violently force Marie back to the hotel and hide her in her closet. Marie’s unearthly screams, Deme’s tears, and Cyril’s escape are too much. Bernard decides to end this terrible repetition the only way he knows how. Get rid of the source of it: the people he loves most in the world.