Like Father, Like Daughter (2022) Review
Like Father, Like Daughter opens with a title card telling the viewer that Lyle, played by Ken Brewer who also wrote and directed the film, and Nancy Wheeler (Kaitlin Kinner, Trash Juice, Death Park: The Beginning) the father/daughter team who killed 32 people are being moved to the mental facilities where they will spend the rest of their lives. You won’t be surprised to learn that they, along with a couple of other inmates, escape instead.
Elsewhere, Matt (Doug Waugh, The Prototype, It Wants Blood!) who just relocated from San Francisco, is about to start his first day as a forest ranger. The park’s other two rangers Cletus (Joe D’Auganno, Death Park 5, Death Park 6) and Mike (Lawrence Waller, Death Park: The Beginning, Death Park: The End) take him on a tour of the hiking trails he’ll be patrolling. Bobbie Jo (Traci Burr, May, Malvolia: The Queen of Screams), one of the park’s guides is also on the trails with a group of tourists. And this being a horror movie I don’t have to tell you who else is in the park, do I?
Like Father, Like Daughter gets off to a fast start when it comes to delivering the kills, even having a few random folk walk around the park and get killed while we’re being introduced to the leads. The filmmakers also have an off-duty cop Alexis (Linnea Swanson, Phantasm Vigil Lords, M: P4RT II- the Documentary) wandering the trails too as a way of evening the odds. As you can tell, Like Father, Like Daughter’s plot is not what you would call complex. Everyone gets separated and runs around screaming. Lyle and Nancy wander around killing them, or any random hiker who picked the wrong day to get some exercise.
This is all done on a budget that had to be close to fifty dollars. Like Father, Like Daughter is a microbudget slasher in the same vein as Backwoods Bubba and Axegrinder 2. So if you don’t do that kind of film you can skip this one. If you do, then there’s a few things about it you should like.
Brewer rarely lets the film’s pace slow down and get talky, there are constant chases and kills to keep things moving along. Combined with a sixty-eight-minute, including credits, running time Like Father, Like Daughter doesn’t get a chance to start dragging. There are also a fair number of effects, most of which look to be practical. They’re all very basic, but unlike many low-budget genre offerings, they are there. The same can be said for the score, there isn’t a lot of it, but there is some decent instamental metal, some of which has a Dream Theater feel to it.
Even though it’s not billed as a horror comedy, some of Like Father, Like Daughter’s dialogue seems to be meant to be humorous, poking fun at the genre. Some of it did give me a chuckle, especially Matt’s reactions to all the bodies he stumbles over. Similarly, Kaitlin Kinner’s portrayal of Nancy goes so far over the top at times I certainly hope it was meant to be funny.
On the other hand, Like Father, Like Daughter also has some issues. Most notably everyone runs around endlessly as if they’re in the middle of nowhere. But in at least one scene houses are clearly visible a few feet from the trail. And not running to them is far from the only illogical thing characters do. At other points there’s so much cutting between chases I felt like The Benny Hill Show theme should have been playing.
For no-budget cinema though, Like Father, Like Daughter is an enjoyable watch. It’s amusing and quick-paced and, while you won’t remember it in six months, it is fun while it lasts. It’s currently available on Tubi and you can check the director’s Facebook page for announcements of other platforms. And if you’re looking for more family frights, FilmTagger can offer you some suggestions.