Daddy’s Head Review: Haunting Creature Feature

Though Daddy’s Head results in a clichéd conclusion, the film’s haunting creature design makes it worth the watch.

But regardless of the movie’s vast potential, as Daddy’s Head ended and the credits rolled, I couldn’t help but feel that the film’s captivating buildup felt somewhat of a waste.

At the beginning of the movie, Laura (Julia Brown), and her stepson Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) visit the hospital so that Issac can see his father one last time before his life support machine is shut off. What makes this scene so impactful is the fact that Isaac’s father James (Charles Aitken) lies lifeless in his hospital bed after a devastating car accident that left him for dead and his face cannot be seen. Instead, it’s covered with bandages, which, ironically, is even more horrifying. This approach makes the audience’s mind run wild as we wonder about the extreme extent of his injuries, and the trauma that Isaac will be left with seeing his father in such a condition.

Following this visit, Laura and Isaac return home, and Laura ponders her future. As if the heartbreaking loss of her husband wasn’t hard enough to deal with, she must also decide whether to become Isaac’s legal guardian as his mother is no longer alive, either. However, It’s clear early on that she doesn’t want to become a full-time parent and the relationship between her and Isaac is fractious. To make matters worse, not long after James’ passing, strange occurrences begin to happen at the house.

As a viewer, the suspense and wonder of what might happen next keeps you on your toes as the film’s narrative envelops you in dread as the story unfolds. Other than a few intense, short-lived scenes, Barfoot takes a less-is-more approach when it comes to the horror elements. This is highly effective, and with the film’s chilling atmosphere and psychological aspects, the director excels at creating a genuinely haunting backdrop. Throughout the film’s runtime, you will go back and forth on whether the entity Isaac keeps seeing is real, or if it’s a product of his imagination and a metaphor for the grief he has been experiencing since his father’s untimely death.

Though the image of a human head resembling a normal person may not be all that scary, there’s something deeply unsettling about how the entity in Daddy’s Head is presented. From the way it speaks and moves, to the anticipation that builds throughout the film as the audience wonders where and when it may appear next showcases Barfoot’s masterful atmospheric storytelling abilities. This is highly impressive considering that this is only his second feature film.

That said, the uncertainty surrounding what is real and what’s not in Daddy’s Head is where I think the film falters and will have the audience divided. After speaking to a few friends after watching the movie, some believed the creature Isaac sees is real, while others didn’t. Ultimately, I think there are arguments for both sides. However, given how split people’s opinions are on the matter makes it feel as though the movie is excessively ambiguous and could have presented its core ideas more clearly. Ultimately, Daddy’s Head is another example of a horror flick where the buildup vastly overshadows the film’s resolution. This is disappointing given how utterly brilliant the creature design is, and the more favorable directions they could have taken the narrative in as opposed to a clichéd conclusion.

But if you’re in the mood for an unsettling horror film that will make you question what might be hiding in the corner of your room after you turn off the lights and attempt to drift away to sleep, then Daddy’s Head definitely does its job.

Daddy’s Head is now available to watch on Shudder.