You wake up from a groggy sleep to flashing blue lights outside your windows in the darkness of the forest. Of course, you go outside and follow the lights to see where they are coming from, right? If this intrigues you, you need to see Daddy’s Head.
Written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot’s (Double Date) new film explores grief and fear as a twisted sci-fi tale. In the film, Laura (Julia Brown) has just lost her husband in a tragic car accident. This leaves her to care for her stepson, Isaac (Rupert Turnbull), on her own. In her grief, coupled with the fact that she never wanted to be a mother, she leans on her husband’s friend Robert, portrayed by Nathaniel Martello-White, and alcohol, which leaves her in a state of unconsciousness most of the time.
An Emotional Roller Coaster
Similarly to The Babadook and Talk to Me, this film leans into topics like grief and motherhood. Barfoot’s storytelling, coupled with the performances from Brown and Turnball, make this film what it is. Daddy’s Head takes us to emotional places as viewers while giving us a few scares. Set on a sprawling estate, in seemingly the middle of nowhere, Laura and Isaac are left alone to deal with their grief and their uncomfortableness with each other. One night, smoke and lights appear in the forest, hinting that something has crash-landed outside. Then things take a turn for the creepy and unknown. They encounter a creature in their kitchen after the funeral, thinking it is an animal. However, when it reveals itself to Isaac it is wearing his dead father’s face.
Messy and Relatable Stepmom
Barfoot takes the idea of not letting go or how difficult it is to move on after an unexpected loss and infuses it with this nightmarish sci-fi concept, one we have not seen before. Isaac pulls at our heartstrings as he screams and cries to be heard when trying to convince Laura and Robert that what is outside in the forest is his father. Laura breaks down and screams, reminding us of Toni Collette’s performance in Hereditary, when faced with the idea that she has to carry on without her husband and become Isaac’s default mother.
Her battle with alcoholism makes her an even more flawed character who is hurting but has to show up for someone else when she doesn’t know how. There are moments when you want to grab her and shake some sense into her, and there are others where you want to hug her and help her through her pain. Barfoot unravels these characters and exposes them beautifully on screen.
It’s Real Creepy
Daddy’s Head excels in atmosphere, character development, and story. However, it is lacking in quality scares. There are a few jump scare moments that give you pause. Sadly, there are a few missed opportunities to amp up the fear factor with this concept. The use of darkness and shadows provides creepiness and suspense but doesn’t follow through enough to give us those heart-stopping scares we crave.
The final act of Daddy’s Head starts out strong. When faced with the chance for Laura to step up and protect Isaac from the creature tormenting them, she rises to the task. Again, the follow-through falls short and goes in a direction that doesn’t really give the impact this film deserves. There was a steady buildup to what could have been an epic moment for Laura and Isaac. However, it was as if Barfoot didn’t know what to give viewers in order to put the pieces of the story together on our own at the end.
Daddy’s Head is a dark sci-fi horror exploration of grief with stunning cinematography and exceptional performances. The story unfolds like an eerie folktale. It elicits empathy from viewers and keeps us on the edge of our seats. It keeps us wondering what might be in that dark corner. While we’d love to see more scares and more refined CGI for the creature design, Daddy’s Head effectively pulls you in. We can smell the crisp air, feel the cold, and the fear surrounding the leads. We can see the stark contrast between the home of these characters and this creature that has taken up residence in the forest. The journey through grief is like stepping into the unknown. Daddy’s Head dives deep into that journey with creativity and a dynamic narrative.
Daddy’s Head arrives on Shudder on October 11.
