Jamie Skinner reviews Mystery/Horror film, The Eternal Daughter. A mother and daughter (Tilda Swinton) confront the past in different ways as they spend time in a hotel which was once their family home.

Cert - 12, Run-time - 1 hours 36 minutes, Director - Joanna Hogg 

Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter is a ghost story without any ghosts. Writer Julie (Tilda Swinton) is haunted by chills as she paces through the corridors and grounds of her former family home, now a vacant hotel. Her memories, although largely unspoken, are different to those of her elderly mother, Rosalind (also Swinton), who sits and reminisces about what each room has become as part of a relaxed time away.

Swinton is excellent in the dual-role creating a true mother-daughter bond between the two central characters. We rarely see them in the same shot; almost always alone. During scenes of conversation over dinner the camera cuts back and forth between the pair, highlighting the natural course of their discussion. Yet, there’s something of a sense of distance between them not properly appearing together, making the few shots where they share the frame all the more effective in the later stages of the film.

Any other communication Julie has over the course of the 96-minute run-time is short yet effective in adding to the overall atmosphere of the location and film as a whole. Staggered conversations with the hotel receptionist (Carly-Sophia Davies) and kindly caretaker Bill (Joseph Mydell), seemingly the only other member of staff, help to build things up and provide enough interest to keep things moving before the turns of the third act.

Everything builds up to the final stages which make the most of Julie’s growing worries and frustrations. Mysteries form throughout, particularly as to why this trip has actually been made - it’s clear that it’s more than just seeing the old family home. Much of which is captured in the closing scenes of the film where Hogg’s themes and techniques truly come through for later effect within the gradual, slow-burn arc.

This certainly won’t be a film for everyone, it’ll likely divide audiences with some finding it too slow. However, for others, myself included, there’s enough intrigue within the atmosphere and details of each scenes to keep things moving in the build up to the closing reveals. Helped by a Hammer Horror style location to further boost the feeling of a not-quite-ghost-story it’s the small details within The Eternal Daughter which group to have an effect later on. 

Heightened by an excellent dual performance from Tilda Swinton - bringing life to both characters and their respective responses to where they are - the mysteries gradually reveal themselves, particularly through her haunted turn as central figure Julie. Intrigue grows with each event and interaction, keeping you in place throughout the run-time. Making for an effective ghost story where the ghosts, which may not be present for everyone, gradually reveal themselves as we spend more time looking for them.              

Jamie Skinner, four stars ****