Written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot, a boy and his stepmother fear for their safety after an eerie creature resembling the boy’s recently deceased father visits them. Starring: Rupert Turnbull, Julia Brown, Charles Aitken, Nathaniel Martello-White, Mary Woodvine and Lucy Doyle.
When you’re selecting a location for a horror film, a house that’s perfectly isolated, surrounded by woods and its walls are almost entirely glass, is always going to be a great choice. As soon as we’re introduced to this family and wander the halls of their ultra-modern home, you can feel the sinister vibes growing.
That atmosphere is possibly the strongest element that Daddy’s Head has to offer, there’s a great tension running all throughout the film. Fairly closely followed by the performances which are a huge boost to that tense quality.
Julia Brown’s Laura is nicely broken and downtrodden, truly struggling with the loss of her husband but also refreshingly honest with herself about the relationship between herself and stepson Isaac (Rupert Turnbull). It’s not often you see that kind of self-awareness that just because you’re currently the only guardian in a child’s life doesn’t mean you’re automatically the right choice to care for them. The resentment between them keeps things interesting to have such a push and pull of not wanting to need each other but in this moment, they undeniably do.
However, it feels like they’re splitting the lead role, there’s no-one to strongly take the lead and central focus, and Daddy’s Head is missing something without that. A big reason for that is the qualities of these characters because neither of them are hugely sympathetic.
Their situation is easy to empathise with but their personalities, not so much. It leaves us without a true driving force to the story, so while the plot itself is simple but effective, the lack of anchor, added to a rather slow progression, leaves a bit of a hole.
There’s a quality to Daddy’s Head that’s unsatisfying, there are a lot of different potential avenues opened up but not many of them are explored. So, what we’re left with is quite simple and while Turnbull and Brown are doing plenty to inject tension and suspense, not enough happens to keep things going.
Similar could be said of the directorial style, Benjamin Barfoot’s work is absolutely solid, and there’s some fantastic natural landscapes in the mix but it doesn’t feel like they’re adding what’s needed. It’s not fully getting to grips with all the creepy, mystical layers that it had the potential for.
Daddy’s Head has a good concept with a decent tension running throughout but it’s missing something to take it further. It has a good foundation and strong performances from the two leads but without additional layers to peel back and a wider exploration of its story, it can’t reach its full potential.
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