All eyes are on Tilda Swinton in the first trailer for Joanna Hogg and A24’s eerie and haunting feature, The Eternal Daughter. It’s impossible to avoid gazing into Swinton’s eyes as she takes on both leading roles in the film. The trailer sets the tone for an unsettling tale bound to keep audiences guessing until the end.
In it, we’re introduced to a mother and daughter who are on a holiday at an old mansion that’s now been turned into a hotel. The storyline is immediately set up to reveal that the mother once lived at the gothic home, adding an air of mystery to the duo’s arrival. Strange sounds keep the women awake at night, and with seemingly no one else taking up accommodations, the ladies – or at least the daughter – are having a hard time understanding the strange noises. But, when it’s revealed that the house has the ability to hold onto memories, it’s clear that someone or something from the other side is trying to communicate with the living.
Along with Swinton, The Eternal Daughter also stars Carly-Sophia Davies, Zinnia Davies-Cooke, and Joseph Mydell. A reunion for Hogg, Swinton, and A24, the film marks the latest venture for the director and actress; Swinton and her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne previously appeared in both parts of the filmmaker’s star-studded feature-length series, The Souvenir. In fact, the director and actress have worked on a number of projects together, going back to 1986’s Caprice. Hogg also penned the film and serves as a producer alongside Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, and Emma Norton with Martin Scorsese joining as an executive producer.
Drawing in praise from this year’s film festival circuit, the feature also earned the stamp of approval from Collider’s own Ross Bonaime. In what he referred to as “a fascinating approach,” Bonaime celebrated Hogg’s inventive take on a ghost story. Along with Hogg’s storytelling, he also commended Swinton on her double performances writing that she kept things “extremely funny and engaging.”
As for Swinton, fans can expect to next see her in Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson’s stop-motion telling of the classic children’s story Pinnochio when it arrives to Netflix on December 9. She’s also slated to star in Wes Anderson’s rom-com Asteroid City and David Fincher’s neo-noir thriller, The Killer. While she was added to the cast of Adam McKay’s television series reboot of Bong Joon Ho’s Academy Award-winning film, Parasite, the actress backed out of the project just a few weeks ago.
You can check out the trailer for The Eternal Daughter below and keep scrolling for the film’s synopsis. Catch the film when it hits theaters on December 2.
Here’s the synopsis:
An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past. Featuring a towering, deeply moving performance by Tilda Swinton, acclaimed filmmaker Joanna Hogg’s beguiling latest film is a brilliant and captivating exploration of parental relationships and the things we leave behind.
