Daddy’s Head (2024) - Movie Review

What if I told you that there was a wish.com Babadook movie? OK, now what if I told you that it was actually okay?  

Let's discuss.

Daddy's head is a 2024. Psychological horror creature feature. Brought to us by writer director Benjamin Barfoot. If you're not familiar with Barfoot, don't worry, his work has mainly been in the short film category. I'd love to tell you that I'd seen any of his work prior, but I have not.

However. I can say as a director and cinematographer. He's definitely put his best foot forward. This film is beautiful. Nature is one of the stars and whether displaying. The abject beauty of the landscape the film was shot in or the terror the Deep woods can inspire Barfoot succeeds in both respects.

The film focuses on Laura, a recent widow and her stepson, Isaac, as they mourn the passing of father and husband James. The two reside in an isolated Woodlands home. It's Dutch modern aesthetic, providing a cold nest for the two to deal with their grief. But before either of them can come to terms with the loss they've sustained, a creature shows up in the night. It beckons the child to join it in the woods. First with the familiar voice, then with the face of his dead father. The creature has a plan for Laura and Isaac, and nothing will stand in his way. Will Laura find a way to save Isaac, or will she just be another victim for daddy?

The film is well acted for what the actors are given to work with. This film was light on script and exposition and more on environmental storytelling. It is a very basic story, much like The Babadook, which I compared the film to earlier. It is an allegorical film regarding the process of grief. If I could have a dime for every time Doctor Kubler Ross's book and process an idea was used in film or television allegorically, I would be a rich, rich man. That's not to say it's a negative, but it is slightly tired.

The special effects are solid, especially what little practical effects there were. However, the digital effects were hit and miss. The problem with utilizing CGI in a dark movie like this is that it is extremely hard to get the edges of the digital asset to blend with true darkness.

That doesn't change the fact that this film has a few good scares. The movie has an atmos  atmospheric-creep factor that really works for the 1st 2/3 of the film. The problem is the movie is extremely stereotypical, so by the 1st 2 acts you know exactly what's going to happen in the third act and there's really no surprises.

There's really not much to say because it is a simple premise, although executed with panache. It's a solid effort from an up-and-coming director And I hope to see more of his work soon. If you need a no nonsense straightforward supernatural horror movie, Give this one a shot, you might just like it. It's currently streaming on Shudder as an exclusive.

And please let me know in the comments or on Instagram how this one looks. This is my first time using speech to text due to my surgery.