The Reel Review
After his father dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances, an emotionally traumatized young boy and his now widowed stepmother try to forge a new relationship living together, just as a new challenge appears – a supernatural entity that has the face of his dead father. Rupert Turnbull (Professor T) and Julia Brown (World on Fire, Shetland) star in this British supernatural horror/mystery.
Production wise, writer/director Benjamin Barfoot (Double Date) has all the makings of a great film: a coldly beautiful and spooky setting, a creepy score and some wonderfully eerie cinematography. But it is his story, which leans into changeling folklore, is done way better in such other trauma/supernatural mashups as The Babadook and Come Play and seems unsure about the tale he wants to tell, not doing much with either sub-genre as a result.
The creature – a spooky, long-legged insectoid entity – is unsettling and there are a couple of decent scares. It would have been interesting to see more about the evolution of the relationship between the traumatized boy and his wine-guzzling stepmother who hasn’t warmed to the idea of raising him on her own, but instead we get mediocre acting (the child’s character is super annoying), only a smattering of characterization, and a frustrating “wait, what?” finale. Daddy’s Head is a solid looking film but is more style than substance.
REEL FACTS
• Benjamin Barfoot is a self-taught filmmaker who made stop motion animation films as a child.
• Mary Woodvine (Enys Men), who plays the boy’s social worker, is the daughter of Shakespearean actor John Woodvine.
• Daddy’s Head was filmed in the U.K. and Kuwait.