Horror Movie Review: Daddy’s Head (2024)

Written and directed by Benjamin Barfoot, Daddy’s Head has a very creative concept and some of the finest acting seen in a horror/thriller this year, but it just can’t quite sustain its early promise.

It’s an enjoyable film, one oozing in sinister atmosphere, that begins to falter as it goes on. Mainly because it rushes to a conclusion, one that doesn’t fully satisfy either, and one that was pre-empted, partially, by an unnecessary opening that sees a young adult visiting an empty house and sitting down to stare at a large vent in the wall.

This is Isaac (James Harper-Jones) and we then flash back to when he was younger (played by an excellent Rupert Turnbull) and when his father James (Charles Aitken) died in an accident. An event that traumatised and devasted the young boy, especially as the only person he could turn to was his stepmother, Laura (Juila Brown) who is dealing with her own grief.

The pair weren’t close before. Laura had wanted to be with James, and he came as a package deal with Isaac, so she accepted the boy. Now, she is a widow and expected to carry on bringing up a child she has no interest in, let alone the maternal instincts to look after and protect the boy. She simply doesn’t know how to deal with his needs or how to handle his grief while she herself is spiralling into depression and alcoholism. It doesn’t help that they are living at a remote house in the country where the nights are dark and quiet.

As a drama that focuses on the pair and their struggling relationship, Daddy’s Head is a compelling watch to begin with. There’s a sense that the horror is coming, you just need to be patient, but these two characters and these two actors are so watchable that patience comes easy.

The payoff? Something quite unusual and exceptionally unexplainable (likely alien) that takes the form of James and convinces Isaac that he has returned. Of course, no-one believes him, and it’s seen as his way of dealing with the grief of his father’s death. The adults just aren’t listening, and this pushes Isaac even further away and into the waiting arms of this mysterious creature. How does it look like James and what does it want?

Answers that Daddy’s Head will give, but in a less complex way than expected. In fact, the whole reveal is very simple and it’s one area of the story that feels very uncreative. Which is just one other aspect of the finale that makes it unsatisfactory. The whole thing just feels like it runs out of steam. Which is such a shame as the build is so strong, the atmosphere is so thick, the tension is layered, and it has some solid moments of fright.

It’s all about the journey though, right? Not when the destination is so underwhelming. This just means the journey feels like a waste of time. Which, thankfully, isn’t how Daddy’s Head is being summed up. It’s not a waste of time, it just promises more than it can deliver.