Run Rabbit Run

Interest 0

CULT CRITIC : ★ 7.0

In the Australian family horror film Run Rabbit Run, which stars Sarah Snook, there are a few points where you wonder if something is missing. Not in terms of the narrative, which is structurally competent in a derivative sense, but rather in terms of having a genuine emotional investment in the events that are taking place. Although there are some arresting moments, the overall experience begins to wear thin as it goes through the motions of doing what other works that came before it did much better.

The film, which was written by Hannah Kent and directed by Daina Reid, takes us into Sarah Snook's initially happy but increasingly fragile life. She is a mother who works as a fertility doctor, which does the film no favors because it only invites comparisons to the far superior Birth/Rebirth, which is also shown at the film festival. Her daughter's birthday is coming up soon. Mia (Lily Latorre), who has just turned seven, is enjoying the occasion like any other young child. That will soon change when a rabbit shows up on their doorstep, and the young girl starts to wear a mask that looks like the rabbit.

In theory, this all sounds great. The film never succeeds in its execution. The images of animals, including the rabbit and the birds that occasionally appear to haunt the movie, lend credence to the idea that something supernatural is taking place. Sadly, it is only sketchy and lacks genuine scares, so it soon just becomes part of the poor experience as a whole. Sarah and the character formerly known as Mia begin to feel suffocated in the confines of the suburbs where they live.

The single mother begins to become increasingly concerned that aspects of her past have been revealed as she begins to observe her daughter making startling drawings that appear to have been taken from any other film. When the two return to Sarah's childhood home, they eventually leave behind this setting to increase tension by connecting the two timelines. The whole experience has an eerie resemblance to striking previous Australian horror films like "The Babadook" and "Relic," which try to blend the terrifying elements with something more personal.