Steven Spielberg‘s youngest daughter Destry has made her directorial debut with her first full-length film, Please Don’t Feed The Children.
Unfortunately, the scary movie isn’t being showered with the same praise as her famous father’s filmography.
The horror flick, which is streaming exclusively on Tubi, has been completely savaged by critics since its release last week.
IGN gave Please Don’t Feed The Children a lowly four out of 10, with the publication singling out 28-year-old Destry’s direction.
‘What starts as a novel – if dubious – spin on the end of the world quickly becomes a bland, overcooked nothing burger, no thanks to Paul Bertino’s one-dimensional screenplay and Spielberg’s unsteady direction,’ wrote IGN’s Lena Wilson.
‘Spielberg’s timid direction also contributes to the movie’s muddiness and hobbles its capable performers… She seems to have forgotten that old moviemaking axiom: Show, don’t tell.’
Meanwhile, Paste magazine said that Destry’s ‘lack of experience shows’ in the film.
Steven Spielberg’s youngest daughter Destry has made her directorial debut with Please Don’t Feed The Children, but the film is currently receiving bad reviews
‘This Tubi original, sci-fi-horror-tinged thriller ultimately comes off as a conflicted, scattershot mess, let down less by anything related to Spielberg’s direction and more by a perplexing screenplay, amateurish technical issues, and occasional weakness in its performances, with the exception of headliner Michelle Dockery,’ they wrote.
The movie also has just five out of 10 on IMDb thanks to a string of poor user reviews.
However, it’s not all negative, with Fangoria praising Destry’s debut in a more positive review.
‘Destry Allyn Spielberg demonstrates with this that she has a dexterous understanding of technique, genre convention and emotional nuance,’ they gushed.
The project, which is led by Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, follows a gang of orphans who travel to the south in search of a new life after a viral outbreak decimates the adult population of the nation.
However, they find themselves at the mercy of a psychotic woman who is hiding a perilous secret.
When it came to casting people for the film, Destry worked with renowned casting director Anne McCarthy, who worked on the movie The Conjuring, to find fresh and young actors who wish to break into Hollywood.
The Tubi film follows a gang of orphans who travel to the south in search of a new life after a viral outbreak decimates the adult population of the nation
She told Deadline: ‘My goal was to bring in as many new faces as possible – that’s kind of my goal as a director in the future.’
‘I want to start careers – I’m sick of seeing movies that lack young talent. There are so many young and talented actors that are not getting seen.’
‘I think the whole system is bu****it and I don’t understand why the industry is so exclusive. It’s silly.’
Destry previously denied accusations of nepotism in a series of posts on social media back in 2021.
The young filmmaker owned up to her ‘privilege’ but maintained that she ‘worked hard’ to get where she is today.
‘I am just a young aspiring female filmmaker who admires the art of cinema,’ she wrote in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter).
‘People can argue nepotism, but I know deep down that I worked hard to get where I am and it wasn’t easy. Beyond proud of the team it took to make it,’ she added.
Destry previously denied accusations of nepotism in a series of posts on social media back in 2021
The 28-year-old has also worked as a model and actress
She continued to ‘acknowledge’ her privilege in a second post and spoke about introducing new talent into the industry.
‘I acknowledge that I was born with privilege! I own that through and through!’ she wrote.
‘I make it my mission to bring new talent into the industry and give opportunities to artists of all backgrounds. No one should be left out because of the connections they don’t have.’
As the daughter of American filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Destry has directed a number of short films before jumping to full-length features with Please Don’t Feed The Children.
She also starred in I Know This Much is True and the critically acclaimed Licorice Pizza and has worked as a production assistant and worked on props for some of her father’s films.
Steven and his wife, Kate Capshaw, 71, are also parents to Mikaela George, 29, Sasha, 35, Sawyer, 33, Theo, 37, and Jessica, 48.
Destry originally pursued a career in equestrianism before transitioning into modeling for a period of time. She’s currently signed to DT Model Management.
