Shudder Saturday: Daddy's Head (2024)

Daddy’s Head is far from the first film to use the trappings of horror to explore grief. It’s also far from the first film to explore growing tension between a parent and child. I have to say though, considering the plot description, that I didn’t expect to be thinking of one specific film so often throughout my time viewing this. That film was The Babadook. And this is much better than that.

Young Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) is left in the care of his struggling step-mother, Laura (Julia Brown), after the sudden death of his father. It may only be a temporary situation, because Laura may barely be able to care for herself at this time, let alone a child, but maybe they can help one another through the dark tunnel of grief until they see light at the end. Or maybe an interloper will make things even more difficult for them, especially when it seems to be Isaac’s father, back from the dead in a twisted and malevolent form.

The second film from director Benjamin Barfoot, who also wrote the screenplay this time around after making his feature debut a few years ago with Double Date (a glorious horror comedy written by the lead, Danny Morgan), Daddy’s Head is much more interesting and thought-provoking than I expected it to be. Balancing out the good and the bad, as well as the straightforward drama and the standard horror movie moments, this is a mature and careful exploration of grief that many may pass over due to the title and basic plot description. The two main characters don’t necessarily mean to make things any more difficult for one another, they just aren’t able to make things any easier as they become more and more pre-occupied with managing their own pain.

Turnbull and Brown are equally excellent in roles that require them to show themselves in a very poor light. The script helps them to be problematic without making them unbearable, thanks to the strong current of grief running through the film and the well-balanced performances. There are a few good supporting cast members helping to remind viewers of the potential for outsiders to observe and judge our leads, but the others who deserve a mention are Nathaniel Martello-White, complicating things as a slightly-too-close friend of Laura, and Charles Aitken as “daddy”.

On the one hand, I’m not sure who to recommend this to. On the other hand, I would love everyone to watch this. It will be a divisive experience, especially with the way in which things play out in the very last scenes, but patient viewers should find themselves rewarded with a film that uses some pulp fiction to shine a light on a dark and vital aspect of the human experience.

8/10

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