Daddy Still Loves Us is a 2019 American supernatural psychological horror film that revolves around an adolescent boy named Marcus, who finds himself falling victim to an inner malevolence after the death of his father. The film stars Jordan Pressler, Drew Barrymore,
Tagline
Nothing is more terrifying than losing a loved one - or so he thought.
Summary
Following the recent death of his father, 19-year-old Marcus begins to experience a complete overhaul on his once-comfortable suburban life. His mother, Lynda, is also deeply traumatized by the loss and chooses to drown her sorrows away with a self-destructive plunge into alcoholism. Marcus receives a great deal of comfort from his close circle of friends in the neighborhood, all of whom want to support and care for their friend to the best of their distinct abilities. Refusing to seek professional help or come to terms with his father's passing, Marcus starts to follow in his mother's footsteps, smothering his deep-seated anxieties under drugs and booze. What commences as a chaotic aftermath of tragedy slowly progresses into something far more sinister, as Marcus learns that neither he nor his mother are safe living in their suppressed environment. Could it be his father trying to reach out to him from beyond the veil? Or has Marcus' life-altering trauma manifested in some sort of supernatural awakening?
Plot
In a quiet suburban neighborhood, an endless row of tall trees enclose the block, ablaze with color as the changing leaves fall carelessly onto the street and blow silently along in the wind across freshly mown lawn. The road is completely silent with nary a single car driving by. The bright blue sky is illuminating a lovely middle-class home adorned with thick bushes stacked up against the side windows and a large cherry tree standing on one side of the front yard. The green grass is slathered with red juice just below the tree. On top of the fruit-coated plant are some birds chirping happily as they feast on all the cherries. 19-year-old Marcus (Jordan Pressler) is relaxing by himself on the couch in his living room, watching an old black-and-white movie on his parents' widescreen TV. As he watches the old-fashioned yet artsy production with an almost deranged keenness, in comes his mother, Lynda (Drew Barrymore), complete with her half-drank glass of chardonnay, who wanders into the living room and slides beside Marcus on the couch with the glass in one hand and her cellphone in the other. Lynda scrolls through passages on her phone looking as though something is troubling her, but all Marcus cares to do is devote his full attention to the movie. Once she lets out her final glare of disgust upon her phone business, Lynda puts down her cellular device and turns her attention to an entranced Marcus. She questions Marcus as to why he frequently indulges in such ancient works of art, but he simply brushes off her obvious contempt and maintains his eyesight on the television screen. Seeing that he doesn't want to be spoken to, Lynda scrunches her face into a silly expression and playfully forces her way into Marcus' personal space, rubbing her face against his and asking him once again why he insists on watching old movies. Unable to keep his focus on the film, Marcus can't help breaking into a giggle and gives his mother a kiss on the cheek. Lynda wraps her arms around Marcus' neck and smothers him with hugs and kisses, resting her head on his shoulder and sharing in his fascinated viewing experience. Lynda realizes the movie Marcus is watching is George Waggner's 1941 horror film, The Wolf Man, catching the scene where Lon Chaney Jr. transforms into a werewolf. Lynda grows disturbed by the grotesqueness of this pivotal moment and asks Marcus why he's so consumed by the material, to which he unapologetically replies that he empathizes with the character, able to be scared by the effect but also moved by the notion of a man losing control over his physical and mental state. Lynda takes in her son's thought but can't resist taking another sip of her drink.
Later on in the evening, the sky takes on a dark blue palette. Leaves are still blowing along in the street. A Volkswagen CC pulls up in the driveway, and upon hearing the sound of the engine all the way from the living room, Marcus shoots up from the couch and eagerly rushes to the front door where he greets his father, Paul ( ) with a warm embrace. Paul gives his son a prolonged kiss on his scalp that's buried beneath mounds of brown wavy hair as he holds him powerfully in his arms. Lynda walks into the entrance and expresses her pleasant surprise that Marcus still greets his dad with affection even though he is 19. Marcus goes into the kitchen to get ready for dinner and Lynda welcomes Paul home from work with a long-awaited French kiss. As the couple becomes lost in each other's hold, Marcus lays out three placemats on the dining room table and then distributes cutlery and plates beside each. He strolls back into the entrance hall and finds his parents still canoodling, causing him to instinctively squinch his face up.
As the three sit around the table eating their dinner, Lynda reads conspiracy theory stories on her cellphone while Paul reads irrelevant hoax articles on his. Marcus, preferring not to waste his valuable time with his family eyeing a computer screen, chows down on his mother's rotisserie chicken with relish and applauds her for perfecting the meat as she usually does every Thursday night. Absorbed in the harrowing information she's reading, Lynda complains out loud about the government slowly destroying the ozone layer with chemtrails, but Paul rolls his eyes and insists that she's getting too caught up in details that have yet to be proven accurate. Lynda refuses to accept the possibility that her knowledge on this conspiracy is false, and proclaims she witnessed countless trails being left in the sky earlier from aircrafts. Marcus chimes in that Lynda may be confusing condensation left in the sky for chemicals, but she rebuffs any counterpoints in stubborn conviction that she is spot-on with her paranoid suspicions. Marcus proceeds to calmly eat his food, trying to avoid sending his mother into a frenzy, and asks Paul about his day at work. Paul proudly announces that he sold several life insurance policies to families going through a loss, as well as offering financial planning services to his clients approaching retirement. When asked about what he did today, Marcus tells his father he started working on writing his next screenplay on his fandom movies community. Paul humorously ridicules Marcus for writing fanfiction rather than getting an actual paying job, but Lynda comes to her son's rescue and commends him for devoting his time and energy into doing what makes him happy, encouraging him to continue writing his stories. During the course of their family dinner, somebody rings the doorbell outside. Paul and Lynda stare at each other in confusion, unsure of who would be arriving at their home so late in the evening, but Marcus has a pretty good idea of who it is.
He excuses himself from the table and saunters into the entrance hall. Slowly opening the door with a bit of apprehension, Marcus discovers his circle of best friends -- Brett ( ), an emaciated, long-haired smoke fiend, his younger brother, Charlie ( ) and their black straitlaced friend, Jay ( ) -- waiting for him on his doorstep. Jay gives Marcus his signature hug and Brett reveals a case of bud light beer hidden in his backpack. Marcus greets them with a vague grin and unenthusiastically welcomes them into his home. As soon as the three step foot inside, Marcus secretly releases a frustrated sigh accompanied by an eye roll as he closes the door. Brett leads the pack upstairs toward Marcus' bedroom, but Marcus begins to feel sick with dread as he follows his friends up the steps. Staring at his closed bedroom door as though it were a warzone, Marcus recommends hanging out downstairs in case they get drunk and create a commotion. The trio turns around and heads back downstairs, and on his way toward the basement, Jay peeks into the kitchen and gives a warm greeting to Paul and Lynda with his overemphasized smile and overtly polite exterior. Marcus ushers Jay downstairs in embarrassment and informs his parents they're simply going to watch television. Lynda voices her worry to Paul that the boys are planning on drinking and smoking, but Paul calms her down and asserts that Marcus would never engage in such an activity, believing he's too smart and educated to wreak havoc on his body or give in to peer pressure. Lynda thinks she should go downstairs and make sure they're not doing anything, but Paul urges her not to embarrass Marcus by making a scene and dismisses her fear by stating "teenagers will be teenagers". Lynda pulls herself together in hope that she's being irrational and falls silent, returning to her chicken with a resounding look of unease.
Down in the basement, Brett and Charlie take swigs of their canned beer and Jay sucks long drags off his electronic cigarette while Marcus stares at them with disdain and masks his discomfort behind an emotionless visage of calm. Brett offers Marcus some of his alcohol but he uses his dismissive wave to decline, insisting that he detests the flavor and prefers to maintain control of his faculties and behavior. Charlie proclaims that Marcus should experience what it's like to get drunk at least once in his life and criticizes him for being close-minded about attempting new things, but lacking the assertiveness to defend his choices, Marcus simply shrugs his shoulders and stares down at the floor in shame. Brett praises Marcus for having the courage to say no to things he doesn't want to do and even admires his ability to have a good time without relying on toxic substances, being that he has reached a point where he feels controlled and dominated by smoking and drinking in order to feel good. Injected with a spark of self-respect based on Brett's kind words, Marcus smiles at him as he mindlessly chugs away at his can. Looking over at Jay, who's emitting a cloud of vapor from his mouth, Marcus asks him what he's smoking, and Jay, surprised at his ignorance, explains that it's a nicotine-based liquid used to help smokers quit smoking. Marcus finds himself entranced by the sight of the growing cloud exiting from Jay's mouth, as well as enticed by the fruity scent, so he asks Jay if he could give it a try. Jay hands Marcus his e-cig and he observes its cigarette-shaped appearance with a transfixed blend of excitement and anxiety. Marcus slowly brings the electronic cigarette to his lips and inhales deeply, but struggles to hold the vapor in his mouth as it goes down his throat and starts choking on it. Brett, Charlie and Jay chuckle in merriment and Marcus hands the e-cig back to Jay as he continues to cough out the vapor through his mouth. Jay talks about meeting up with his girlfriend later in the night and indiscreetly mentions his plan to lose his virginity, which strikes Marcus with a tinge of envy and loneliness. Brett gets into an argument with Charlie over buying him a pack of cigarettes before he goes back to their father's house, leaving Marcus stranded in a mass of tedium as he apathetically listens to their bickering with his usual enigmatic gaze.
As the bright sun goes to rest and the blackness of night emerges alongside the moon, Lynda and Paul get ready for bed. Paul is in the bathroom brushing his teeth and Lynda is sitting upright in bed reading another article about chemtrails on her laptop. She reads troubling passages on the subject matter aloud to her husband, expressing her concern about where the state of the world will be if these actions continue, but Paul, talking through a mouthful of toothpaste, thinks these conspiracy stories are being written by unreliable misfits who are merely trying to stir up panic within the gullible population. Defiant to the sound of opposition, Lynda proceeds with horrified eyes as she skims through the article and silently reads theories regarding the connection between chemtrails and global warming. Paul spits his remaining toothpaste into the sink, wipes his face with a towel hanging off the door, and walks into his bedroom to find Lynda nervously scrutinizing the reports. Having had enough of her rambling for one night, Paul closes Lynda's laptop and forcibly moves it on top of the bureau despite her objection. He gets into bed and cuddles his wife closely, staring romantically into her eyes while she looks back at his with a smile of everlasting affection. As the lovers become more intimate with one another, hinting at the return of sexual desire, they suddenly hear a mood-threatening knock on the outside of their door. The knob is then turned and entering the room is Marcus, who seems as though he couldn't be happier to see his two best friends in the world. Lynda and Paul smoothly break off their intimacy and invite their son in, armed with the knowledge he was going to let himself in regardless. Marcus crawls in bed and lies down between Paul and Lynda, who both stare at each other with a mutual look of expected disappointment. Marcus, on the other hand, has on a smile of peace and relaxation painted across his face as he sinks his head comfortably on Paul's pillow and caresses his parents' hands. Paul informs Marcus that he can't sleep in their bed forever and must at some point learn independence, but Lynda feels honored to have a son who enjoys spending quality time with his parents. Marcus discusses his repugnance over associating with his friends when they smoke and drink because it's not something he can relate to, so Paul admonishes him to find new friends, but Marcus admits he is too shy and socially inept to meet new people.
Early the following morning, the sun rises over the suburban street and a couple more cherries fall from the tree and make a splat as they hit the ground. Marcus, Paul and Lynda are still sleeping together in their bed huddled under a cozy quilt. Marcus and Paul sleep face to face while Marcus keeps both of his hands wrapped tightly around his father's arm. Paul is suddenly woken out of his snooze by the incessant ringing of his alarm clock placed atop a wooden shelf next to his bed. He reaches over and turns off his bedside alarm, then delicately pulls Marcus' fingers off his arm, sits up straight on the edge of the bed and rubs his eyes. Looking over his shoulder and seeing as his wife and son are still asleep, Paul gives Marcus a kiss on his temple and edges away into the bathroom to take a shower. As a cloud of steam permeates the room and gentle running water bounces calmly off the enclosed walls, Marcus remains peacefully confined in his sleep and turns over on his back, lying shoulder to shoulder with Lynda.