JP Nunez
I love monsters, and I love films about grief. So naturally, if you put those two together, I’m all in, and that’s exactly what drew me to Daddy’s Head. While I thought the name sounded a bit silly, the plot synopsis was intriguing as hell. It instantly caught my attention, so I just had to check this movie out. I requested a screener as soon as I got the chance, and now that I’ve seen it, I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed.
Daddy’s Head was written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot, and it stars Julia Brown, Rupert Turnbull, Charles Aitken, and Nathaniel Martello-White. In the film, a man named Jason dies unexpectedly, leaving behind a grieving widow, Laura, and a devastated son, Isaac. Try as she might, Laura simply can’t connect with the boy the way his father could, so they inevitably start to drift apart when they need each other the most.
However, as you might be able to guess, that’s just the start of their problems. Isaac soon begins seeing a strange shape-shifting creature around the house and in the woods surrounding the property, and this thing knows exactly how to draw the poor kid into its twisted web. It takes on the face and head of his late father (hence the name Daddy’s Head), and it tries to maliciously worm its way into this crumbling family.
Pretty much right from the get-go, Daddy’s Head had me completely hooked. The first 15-20 minutes or so are primarily concerned with showing us the depth of Laura and Isaac’s grief over Jason’s death, and they’re pretty effective. The performances are great and the score is somber, and that combination gives the opening act a funereal mood that makes their grief almost tangible.
And if you’ve ever experienced the loss of a loved one, you can’t help but deeply sympathize with this pair. In particular, as someone who lost his father almost 10 years ago, I saw a lot of myself and my own experiences in Laura and Isaac. Their anguish hit home for me in a way few movies ever have, so I forged an emotional connection with them almost immediately.
Those excellent characters give Daddy’s Head a solid foundation, and writer/director Benjamin Barfoot builds on that foundation like a master craftsman. Let’s start with the monster. As I said, this thing has a human head (Jason’s, to be precise), but the rest of its body is much more horrific. It has an almost insectoid quality about it, and while your mileage may vary, I found that incredibly eerie.
But hands down, the scariest thing about this creature is the mismatch between its monstrous body and its human head. That incongruity gives it an unnerving, uncanny valley vibe that’s a bit reminiscent of the final shot in Sleepaway Camp, so every time you see it, it’s bound to send a chill or two down your spine.
All that being said, a great monster is only half the battle. A film also needs to use its monster well, and thankfully, this one totally knocks it out of the park on that front too. It has almost everything fans typically want from a creature feature, so if you’re a fan of this subgenre, I think you’re going to have a good time with Daddy’s Head.
For example, it has a couple of really fun jump scares that will almost certainly catch you off guard. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that the leadup to them is different than we’re normally used to. That makes them a bit harder to see coming, so when they do hit, they’re pretty effective. One of them even jolted my cat out of her beauty sleep, and she almost never reacts to the films I watch. Along similar lines, there are also a number of times when Daddy’s Head cranks up the tension and atmosphere, so even when the monster isn’t on screen, you’ll still be on the edge of your seat.
The only thing it lacks is outlandish gore. Granted, Daddy’s Head isn’t entirely bloodless, but for the most part, it’s not terribly concerned with grossing us out. However, in the final act, we do get a creepy visual that’s quite disgusting in its own right, so if you’re a fan of the gnarlier side of the genre, you’ll still get a taste of it here.
All that being said, I have to acknowledge that Daddy’s Head isn’t quite perfect. While the characters and the horror are great, the story is a bit lacking. As I said before, Laura and Isaac simply don’t click, but for much of the film’s runtime, I never really felt the weight of their paper-thin relationship. The movie never truly convinced me that they needed a stronger bond, so I wanted to see a bit more meat on those narrative bones.
Thankfully though, the excellent characters and awesome horror handily outweigh that one flaw. I was so captivated by what the film got right that I wasn’t bothered by what it got wrong, and in my book, that’s a huge win. I had an excellent time with Daddy’s Head from start to finish, and if you’re a fan of creepy horror, I think you will too.
Daddy’s Head had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, and it’s set to hit Shudder on October 11.
