A folk horror tale that follows Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) and Laura (Julia Brown), following the death of his father James (Charles Aitken), the son and his stepmother have to deal with the recent and tragic passing of the man they both loved.
Muted and almost serene, Isaac and Laura find themselves isolated at the spacious house designed and built by James. As Laura had married James very recently, she has had little opportunity to bond with Isaac. Removed from civilization, the two try to process their grief in the middle of nowhere, unable to turn to each other. Following James’ funeral, Laura is presented with the choice of taking Isaac in and caring for him until he is 18, or passing him into social care. Struggling with the decision, her choice is made more difficult as the young boy finds it difficult to talk with her.
Having passed out after drinking herself to sleep, Laura is awakened when Isaac and the family dog notice a strange creature skulking around the house, frightening everyone and quickly scurrying out of the house via Isaac’s bedroom window. Whether the creature is a figment of Isaac’s imagination, manifest of his grief, or a volatile forest dwelling entity taking advantage of the situation, ‘Daddy’s Head’ presents a nightmarish ghoul, inducing fear from the first moment it appears on screen.
Lurking in the shadows and morphing its face to appease its audience, the creature tries to get close to Isaac and asks him to do his bidding. Transforming its face to resemble James, the creature entices Isaac and makes him believe that it is his father, returned to be with him.
The crux of the film lies in the strained relationship between Isaac and Laura as they fail to reconcile their loss and overcome the animosity that exists between them. Exploiting the situation, the creature approaches Isaac on multiple occasions and asks him to turn away from Laura and come to him in the forest.
Resulting in bizarre and violent behavior, Isaac ad Laura’s relationship is further complicated, making her decision about his care even more challenging. Portraying a young woman after losing her spouse and before a life altering decision, Brown encapsulates the personal struggle and weakness that Laura possesses, both in terms of emotional unavailability and previous substance abuse issues resurfacing. Desperate for guidance and seeking the best solution for the situation whilst tackling personal daemons, Brown’s performance exudes the inner turmoil and desperation the young woman is facing.
In parallel Turnbull contrasts and complements the other side of the relationship as his Isaac is similarly lost and seeking someone to turn to for answers. Well acted, Brown and Turnbull anchor the film and allow for it to succeed purely on the dynamic of the relationship between the two.
Well edited and shot, writer and director Benjamin Barfoot brings forth a rumination on grief less conventional than most audiences would be used to. Even though the main characters are not related and at points even detest each other, Barfoot delivers an emotional story of the struggle the two endure, going so far as to render the rarely seen positive and inspiring conclusion to a horror film.
Dark and unsettling, ‘Daddy’s Head’ births a fear inducing monster whose powers of transformation are enough to keep anyone away from a forest at night for a long time. Effectively instilling unsettling emotions through long and quiet shots during the night, the film has a handful of alarming scenes without reducing itself to cheap jump scares and maintaining a disquieting atmosphere throughout. With a surprisingly sincere conclusion to the story, ‘Daddy’s Head’ is well worth the time for anyone who is looking for a good scare.
Score: 3/4
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