Daddy's Head

I recently watched the UK film 🇬🇧 Daddy's Head (2024) on Shudder. The story follows a young man living with his stepmother after the tragic death of his father. As they both struggle to cope with their loss, a strange figure emerges from the woods, claiming to be the boy's father. But what is buried in the woods, and is this really his father?

The film is written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot (Double Date) and stars Julia Brown (Shetland), Rupert Turnbull (Scrooge: A Christmas Carol), Nila Aalia (The Commuter), and Charles Aitken (Happy Death Day).

This film had a lot of potential. The casting and performances were spot on, and the settings, cinematography, and props effectively created a moody, atmospheric backdrop. The psychological struggles of the main characters felt authentic, making their vulnerability palpable. However, despite the buildup, the villain or supernatural presence never fully takes over the film as you'd expect. The best horror elements come from the eerie sound effects of the creature, but even that isn't enough to carry the tension. The ending is especially disappointing, as it leaves you waiting for a climactic moment that never happens.

In conclusion, Daddy's Head has all the ingredients to be a great horror film, but it never quite delivers. I'd rate it a 5/10 and recommend giving it a pass.

By the halfway point, this film had done little to captivate. Pushed through hoping for more, but apart from the slightest case of the creeps there was nothing.

Pros: The concept. Creepy monster adopts the face of a recently deceased loved one to lure relatives to its lair. Potential for days.

Creature design (barely). Unfortunately, we're given barely a glimpse of the thing, which is a pity because it's the best thing about this film.

Cons: The acting. From underacted to overacted to downright wooden, none of the performances did anything to hold my attention.

The characters. No redeeming factors, nothing to elicit sympathy. Two dimensional. The predominant feeling is one of dislike. When you don't care if the characters live or die, what's the point of watching any more?

The monster. What is it? Where does it come from? What does it want? In the end, I was only holding on for answers to these questions, and I got nothing.

The pacing. Paint dries quicker.

I get the sense they were trying for some grand metaphor, but overall it fell pretty short. After everything, the ending feels pointless.

Disappointing.

Monster seemed cool, if you could see it. Acting not bad not great. Just a series of events with no story - the usual "deep" rubbish. I'm sure there's some grand overture about grief and relationships and etc etc. I can read a book written by professionals for deeper meanings of grief. If you can't translate those meanings into motion then you'd better have a good story - or apparently not a story at all as seems be the case with many films these days. AMBIGUITY IS NOT A STORY - A FILM IS NOT A MOVIE WITHOUT A STORY. It's just collections of thoughts. Everyone has thoughts big deal - tell a story! What a disappointing horror movie season. First Beezle now this. Lame lame lame.

This movie starts with a good premise and really builds the tension. I think the two leads here are doing some great work here. I really loved that we saw less of the creature - that really built the suspense of what is it. The ending felt rushed and motivations of the characters seemed off. I think there was a lot of unanswered questions about what the creature was and why now. What did it want? The location and camera work really save this film. Overall I was creeped out and invested the entire time. I think if you're looking for a decent horror film with the spooky atmosphere you should check this one out.

What some have labelled a flaw I will call a feature.

The acting is tight. The sets beautiful.

The tone is menacing and the sense of dread is intriguing.

This is not apocalypse now or is it menat to be. For a horror it's great. The issue with any review is there is no qualifier to the type of movie the reviewer likes or the day they had when they watched it.

Many things are left unexplained. Many things that I enjoyed others felt frustrating. If you require all things explained and wrapped up in a bow this film is not for you. It doesn't make it bad just not your cup of tea. If you enjoy tone and setting and don't want to be bogged down by 60 minutes of boiler plate character development this is more for you.

I enjoyed the look feel and lack of pointless filler so many horror movies are bloated with. The filler is what some look for and enjoy along with a pablum-like exposition.

Good movie for some bad movie for others....