This Underrated Kevin Costner Horror Movie Is Now Streaming Free
Kevin Costner’s Forgotten 2009 Horror Flop Is Back — But Was It That Bad?
Kevin Costner may currently be battling to finish his ambitious Horizon saga after a lackluster box office return, but long before he went all-in on Western epics, the Oscar-winning actor and director explored nearly every genre in Hollywood. From acclaimed hits like The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, JFK, and Dances with Wolves, Costner built a reputation as one of the most versatile stars of his generation. But there’s one genre that didn’t quite return the favor: horror.
Back in 2009, Costner dipped his toe into supernatural territory with The New Daughter — a film that was quietly released, quickly forgotten, and critically panned. Coming off the failure of 2008’s political dramedy Swing Vote, Costner seemed ready for a career reset. The New Daughter, the directorial debut of Spanish filmmaker Luis Berdejo, looked like a fresh start. Instead, it became a cautionary tale.
In the film, Costner plays John James, a recently divorced novelist who moves to a rural home with his two children. The story, adapted from a short story by Irish writer John Connolly, centers around a mysterious burial mound near the house that awakens something ancient and sinister. Co-starring Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth), Samantha Mathis (American Psycho), and Noah Taylor (Game of Thrones), the film promised eerie suspense but delivered familiar tropes without much innovation.
Released in the same year as Jennifer’s Body, Drag Me to Hell, and remakes of Friday the 13th and The Last House on the Left, The New Daughter failed to stand out in a crowded horror landscape. Its uninspired execution, coupled with lackluster marketing, doomed it from the start.
Critics and audiences were largely unimpressed. With a dismal 24% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was labeled everything from “a waste of time” to “boring and barely engaging.” Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting didn’t mince words, and critic Pete Hammond even suggested the film might have done better under a different title and without leaning on Costner’s name.
“If they had dropped The New Daughter title, took Costner’s mug off the one sheet, and just called it The Mound, they might’ve had a modest hit,” Hammond remarked.
But modest success was far out of reach. Despite a budget of around $15 million, the movie barely cracked $1 million in its limited theatrical run and quickly went to DVD in early 2010. Even home video couldn’t salvage it, making The New Daughter one of the biggest flops in Costner’s career — and his last horror outing for over a decade.
Now, more than 15 years later, Costner is ready to return to the genre. He’s co-writing and starring in Headhunters, a surf-horror thriller set to release in 2026. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Steven Holleran, the film follows a washed-up American ex-pat living in Bali who leads a group of surfers to a remote island — only to encounter a terrifying tribe of ancient headhunters.
Whether Headhunters will redeem Costner’s horror track record remains to be seen. But if The New Daughter taught us anything, it’s that even Hollywood legends can miss the mark — and sometimes, badly.
