Spikeopath The Daisy Chain is directed by Aisling Walsh and stars Samantha Morton, Steven Mackintosh, Mhairi Anderson and David Bradley.Grieving over the loss of their first child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, newly pregnant couple Martha and Tomas decide to leave England and live on the Irish coast. They settle in quickly and things seem to be going well, but when their neighbours house burns down, leaving young Daisy an orphan, Martha and Tomas decide to foster care for Daisy in spite of her being a little different and introverted. Soon enough bad things seem to befall people who come into contact with Daisy, leading to the locals to suspect she may be something terrible from Irish folklore.OK! There's some pretty venomous reviews of this out there in internet land, but really it's a very well constructed creeper that's not without intelligence. Firstly it needs to be noted that this is not a horror film as such, anyone searching for a scare fest or Omen like shocks are in for the biggest of disappointments. Secondly, taking some time out to read something about the legends of Faerie Changeling's will significantly improve your viewing experience. Walsh's movie firmly deals in the realm of superstitious legend, adds in a heart aching strand involving surrogacy via grief, and then lets it play out in ethereal beats till the chilling conclusion is reached.Morton and young Anderson are superb, the former stoic of motherly instincts but still emotionally cracked underneath, the latter a pallid and unnerving presence that haunts the picture even without much dialogue. The photography around the coastal hillside location is stripped back for realism purpose, it may be beautiful terrain, but there's a greyness hanging in the air, suitably so as well. The musical score is a touch irritating, and Walsh is guilty of over doing the slow burn approach, but this definitely has more going for it than has previously been said. Not one to rush out and buy for sure, but certainly worthy of TV time on proviso you understand the Faerie thematics at work first. 7/10

blue_coat This had to be one of the worst movies I have seen. From beginning to end it was predictable I can't remember the number of times I was able to "call" what happened next.Plot and Script very "High School". Would advise anyone not to bother and take a pass on this one.At the beginning I had hopes for something like "The Wicker Man" but the similarities ended at the accent.I don't know what more I can say about this movie I feel like I just wasted the last hour and 20 min and I hope this review will dissuade at least one person from wasting there time watching it. This is a definite pass 3 thumbs down in this room.

Tom Female directors are too rare, particularly those willing to approach the horror genre. Walsh uses the beautiful Western Irish coast to create a bleak atmosphere of isolation and vulnerability. The plot is somewhat obvious, a young couple move away from the bright lights of London to raise a family, the wife is pregnant, and the husband has inherited his childhood home in Ireland, but the neighbour's child Daisy is suspected of being a fairy changeling, born in a fairy ring on Halloween. The Neighbour's son is killed under mysterious circumstances and the parents are soon to follow, the child is then adopted by the London couple, the motivation for this aspect of the plot is addressed but remains unconvincing. The superstitious locals become increasingly scared of young Daisy. The film lacks originality but has some redeeming qualities, the child actress Mhairi Anderson who plays Daisy is remarkable, providing a genuinely disturbing performance, the cinematography and score combine to give the film a unique character that is tense and compelling. The theme of fairies and the supernatural remains unaddressed which is frustrating, it is never made clear whether the girl suffers from autism, is very disturbed or is really a fairy changeling, a question left unanswered deliberately by the director, but in a clumsy way, that doesn't encourage the audience to feel sympathy for the girl, who is properly identified neither as victim nor as aggressor. Despite the flaws The Daisy Chain, a combination of Straw Dogs and the Wicker Man, is a beautiful and at times moving addition to the horror genre.

johnnyd2 I saw this film at a sold out screening at the recent Raindance Film Festival. It is a beautiful piece of work both haunting and affecting. Samantha Morton gives an amazing performance as does Steven Mackintosh but it is newcomer Mhairi Anderson's perfectly judged performance as the waif Daisy that stays with you and keeps you guessing right up until the end. Shot in the magical but often bleak landscape of the West of Ireland this is a haunting and beautiful film that will stay with you for a long time. Another very very fine film from one of Europe's finest female directors whose individual voice and point of view is always interesting. Congratulations.