With Halloween season in full bloom, it’s no surprise people from all over the world are watching horror movies from past and present. In consequence, today, we bring you The New Daughter ending explained. Firstly, “The New Daughter” is a 2009 horror film by Luis Berdejo which stars Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, Samantha Mathis, and Ivana Baquero. Secondly, it’s a film adaptation of a John Connolly short story about a novelist and his two children stumbling on an evil spirit as they move into a country house near a graveyard.
As stated initially, Halloween is the prime season for horror movies binge-watching. The result is a dramatic spike this month of search engine queries of millions of people asking about many horror and thriller movies endings. Some of them want a deeper explanation of the films that caused them shock and awe.
Others want a clearer understanding of the feature films they watch. Because while some are scary, some are gory, others are just difficult to understand. In this case, we prepared a brief for you regarding The New Daughter’s ending.
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The New Daughter plot
John James (played by Kevin Costner), a newly divorced writer, travels to rural South Carolina with his teenage daughter, Louisa (played by Ivana Baquero), and infant son, Sam (played by Gattlin Griffith). The connection between John and Louisa is tense; she accuses him of never loving her mother and destroying everything. Louisa hears odd sounds outside her bedroom window on the family’s first night at home.
A humanoid monster lurks outside on the roof, unseen by her. The youngsters stumble discover a huge mound the next day while exploring the nearby fields and woodland. Louisa is immediately drawn to it, but Sam is hesitant to approach it. In town, John discovers that his home is notorious for the disappearance of a lady who formerly lived there. When he returns home, he discovers Louisa’s pet cat mauled near the house.
Louisa comes to the mound after school and hears odd sounds while resting in the sun. The video turns to John cutting his hand while washing dishes while Louisa hears what sounds like approaching animal growls. That night, John discovers a muddy footprint track going from the open front entrance to the bathroom. Louisa is inside, the door closed, soaking in the tub while the shower cleanses her muddy body.
As it hits the drain, the dirty water becomes crimson with blood. Later that evening, John discovers Louisa sleepwalking. When he returns her to her bed, he discovers a weird straw doll within which is a black ball holding a live spider. Louisa arrives for breakfast the following morning wearing a short black dress and make-up. When John inquires about the doll, she says she has never seen it.
Louisa’s torment
Louisa gets tormented by a preppy girl on their school’s stairwell. Meanwhile, back at home, John discovers a heap of dirty clothing in her bedroom. He discovers the head of Louisa’s doll and the gory remnants of a blackbird when exploring outside the home. John is summoned to bring up Louisa, who reports feeling ill. He passes the preppy girl in the infirmary, who had allegedly “fallen” down the stairs and hurt her arm. Cassandra (Samantha Mathis), Sam’s instructor, gives John her phone number and offers her companionship.
Later, he is surprised to discover a spider nest in the kitchen drawer where he had put the straw doll. Even though he had earlier ordered Louisa to be home by dark, John watches her emerge from the woods that night. He draws his attention to scars evident on the flesh around her neck, but Louisa rushes off without explaining herself. She eats in an animal-like way during supper, as though she is starving.
The evil presence
One night, John calls Cassandra, and they meet socially. Louisa hears sounds outside the house and leaves while John is gone. As John drives home, he notices a dark figure, which resembles Louisa, racing through the woods in front of the house. He gets out of his vehicle and follows the sounds of animal growls, but when he becomes scared, he runs back to his car. When a stone shatters his window, he dashes back to his home. When asked whether she’d gone outdoors, Louisa replies no. He tells her she can’t go near the mound anymore.
The following day, John’s agent arrives at the home, and they discuss the property. Louisa instructs Sam to ascend the ladder to the attic. Sam collapses when scared by animal sounds in the area. He needs sutures, and John chastises Louisa for neglecting her younger brother. That evening, John explores the internet and comes upon an article concerning burial mounds.
He attempts to contact a topic specialist, Professor White (played by Noah Taylor) but is ignored. He then looks into the former owner of the home, Sarah Wayne; she vanished one day, leaving no trace, after locking her teenage daughter Emily in her bedroom from the outside. Emily was ultimately discovered alive and moved in with her grandpa, Roger Wayne (played by James Gammon).
The burial ground
Mrs. Amworth babysits the children while John searches for Roger Wayne. Scarring may be visible on the nape of Louisa’s neck as she watches him drive away from her window. She then goes back to the mound. When John arrives at Roger Wayne’s empty house, he enters and takes a look around.
In the girl’s chamber, he discovers a bizarre nest constructed of twigs and straw, as well as a drawing of the burial mound on a wall with the word “home” underneath it. Roger arrives and confronts John, explaining what happened with Emily and how he burned down his house with her inside, insisting that she was no longer his granddaughter.
Mrs. Amworth gets locked out of the house while John is away, and animal growls can be heard approaching. When Sam hears the babysitter’s screams for help, he goes inside his room to hide. When John returns home, he consoles a terrified Sam and goes over to Louisa to inquire about the babysitter’s whereabouts. She claims she has no idea. J
ohn puts an ailing Louisa to bed after reporting the babysitter’s disappearance to authorities. She wonders, sadly, whether he would abandon her as her mother did. He assures her that he will never do so. That night, John has a dream about a gateway on top of the burial mound and Louisa changing into a monster who says, “I’m your new daughter.” The following day, he discovers a nest identical to the one at Roger’s home in Louisa’s closet.
John’s investigation
John hires a contractor to dismantle the mound the next day. Professor White, who had returned John’s phone call to ask about the mound, comes suddenly and begs him to wait. He tells John of an ancient culture that believed burial mounds were the home sites of old Gods, or “mound-walkers.”
He describes a ceremonial gift exchange involving tiny straw dolls found by John, as well as the mound-walkers’ quest for a young girl to mate with and give birth to a new generation of deities to reclaim the land. John, frightened, instructs the bulldozer to begin its work. The body of Mrs. Amworth is found as it burrows into the mound. Meanwhile, Louisa is scratching the dirt in the playground with her fingers. While Cassandra is caring for the children, John is brought to the police station for interrogation.
Officer Ed Lowry (Erik Palladino) is driving John home that night when they are assaulted, and Lowry is pulled from the police vehicle by a monster. When John comes home, he finds everything in disarray and Cassandra with her throat slit. She walks away, gesticulating toward Louisa, who is standing at the doorway. Louisa refuses to accompany John when he gathers the children. Three mound-walkers attacks the house, and John kills them. Louisa has been missing since the attack. Her screams may be heard from the mound.
The New Daughter ending explained
Sam is left in his room by John, who urges him to “be a big boy” and instructs him to wait for the police. When John travels to the mound to save Louisa, he discovers a tunnel going into it. He pierces a gasoline can, detonates explosives left over from the postponed demolition at the tunnel entrance, lights a flare, and climbs inside.
Louisa is discovered unconscious and drenched in the dirt. Enraged animals scream and pursue him as he drags her out. Meanwhile, Sam has left home, holding a framed family picture and peering into the darkness toward the noises emanating from the mound.
John and Louisa escape the mound and block the tunnel with the leaking fuel canister, but another mound-walker is already outside. Louisa falls, pleading with her father not to abandon her. When John looks down at her, he notices that she is transforming into one of the monsters.
He throws a flare into the seeping diesel fuel, and the mound explodes. The flames are mirrored on the glass of the frame while Sam observes. A figure can be seen emerging, but its identity is unknown. “Daddy?” Sam inquires, as shadows can be seen moving in the trees and house behind him. As the screen turns dark, a snarling monster appears right behind him.
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