I love films set in the winter especially during the blizzard's of snow & i found this excellent Direct-to-dvd Thriller to be a nice companion piece to the excellent survival Thriller THE GREY!!! Both are set in the snowy wilderness with hungry wolves & both are about survival. The Grey & Daughter of the Wolf would make a perfect double bill for a cold winter night of movies.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good this film was, it doesn't feel cheap or low-budget & the winter setting is beautiful & we get an excellent performance from a lady action hero with Gina Carano (The Mandalorian, In the Blood) who is totally convincing as Claire a strong, smart & deadly ex-soldier who is trying to get her kidnapped son back from a gang of who is using her son for a big ransom. Gina makes such a tough & no-nonsense character as Claire, she's a mum & ex-soldier who basically has to use her skills to survive the mountain, the wolves & fight her way through the criminals to get to her son & Gina is also a very good actress to can act as well as kick-ass. Gina is also great in another Survival Thriller called IN THE BLOOD.
The leader of the criminal gang is that of an old man known as Father played by the legendary Richard Dreyfuss & oh my is it good to watch this veteran old school actor still on screen!!! Dreyfuss is one of the most important actors to me since little & growing up watching him in Classic movies such as JAWS & CLOSE ENCOUNTERS & STAKEOUT & WHAT ABOUT BOB? & DOWN & OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS among others, Dreyfuss is a true Movie star & here he steals every scene as the main villain of this exciting survival Thriller. Father is an angry old man with a big chip on his shoulder & a bitter past with Claire's recently dead father of which he was once a friend of but turned enemy over money. Dreyfuss gives a great rugged & viscous performance & is so engrossing on screen.
Another standout performance is from Brendan Fehr (In Hell) as one of Father's helpless sons pushed into this Kidnapping situation but he's not an evil guy & Brendan gives his character a sadness & a sympathetic side.
The action is bloody & raw & the scenes of the Wolves savagely attacking people are ridiculously realistic looking & adds to the tension of the story.
Daughter of the Wolf is part action film, part Survival Thriller & part Mystery drama & all done well.
For a Direct-to-dvd film "Daughter" is Excellent & way above what most of these types of low-budget flicks usually are!!!!
A Excellent Survival Thriller with a good solid story & great performances.
