Every so often, a horror movie arrives that reminds you why Britain remains undefeated in the category of “things that make you uncomfortable in the woods.” Benjamin Barfoot’s Daddy’s Head is one of those films — a quietly unsettling, emotionally charged slice of British folk-horror that somehow manages to balance tender grief, domestic dread, and a creature with dad’s face wandering around like a half-finished wax figure.
It’s bold.
It’s eerie.
It’s full of moments that make you whisper, “Absolutely not,” at the screen.
And best of all — it’s genuinely good.
A Horror Film That Actually Remembers Grief Is Horrifying
The movie opens with Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) and his stepmum Laura (Julia Brown) grieving the sudden death of James — husband, father, architect, and apparently the world’s most gullible driver.
Isaac is devastated.
Laura is trying her best.
And the audience is already tense because British horror has conditioned us to know that when a film starts with a funeral, we’re probably getting another one before the end credits.
The early scenes are grounded, sorrowful, and uncomfortably real. This is not the melodramatic grief of Hollywood horror where people scream into the night sky.
No — this is the British version:
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sipping lukewarm tea
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staring into middle distance
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making terrible decisions on very little sleep
It’s relatable, which is the most terrifying flavor of all.
Then Dad Comes Home… Sort Of
Enter the creature — the star of the show — a horrifying forest entity that decides to cosplay as Isaac’s dead dad using only a wooden photo and vibes.
The first time Isaac sees it, it replays his name in James’s voice like a faulty Amazon Alexa that needs an exorcism.
Laura, to her credit, reacts the way any reasonable person would:
she panics, sweats, and immediately suspects the child of unholy wrongdoing.
Isaac reacts the way any traumatized movie child would:
he decides the creature is absolutely his father and doubles down harder than a cult member with a newsletter.
The creature, meanwhile, behaves exactly like a divorced dad trying to reconnect:
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Shows up at night
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Has terrible posture
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Steals the family dog
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Lives in a man-cave in the woods
Honestly, if it had brought pizza, the movie would have ended right there.
The Creature Design Deserves a Round of Applause (and Therapy)
Let’s talk about the monster.
It is:
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grotesque
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half-formed
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disturbingly familiar
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and somehow still less creepy than many human stepdads
Matthew Allen deserves awards for performing a creature that moves like it’s figuring out its bones in real time. The fact that it uses James’s face like a cheap discount Halloween mask is deliciously unsettling — the horror equivalent of being hugged by a mannequin that remembers you from childhood.
This is practical creature-feature work at its best:
ghastly, uncanny, and just realistic enough that you start checking the window reflections in your own house.
Julia Brown Is the MVP and Deserves a Holiday After Filming This
Julia Brown’s Laura starts off as a well-intentioned stepmum fighting bureaucracy, feral grief, and a child who keeps saying “Dad’s back” in a tone that suggests demon possession is imminent.
By the midpoint, she’s:
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sleep-deprived
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terrified
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probably Googling “how to move to another continent without taking the kid”
Her performance is fantastic — grounded, layered, and infused with the panic of someone who knows the house is haunted but also knows social services won’t buy that explanation.
Her final transformation from anxious stepmum to full-on creature-stabber is satisfying on a deeply primal level. Honestly, more horror movies should end with a woman snapping and fixing everything with a kitchen knife.
Rupert Turnbull as Isaac: Professional Child in Peril
Child actors in horror can be hit or miss. Rupert Turnbull is a hit. The boy plays Isaac with just the right mix of grief, confusion, and “definitely going to therapy for the next 20 years.”
His scenes with the creature are heartbreaking — he wants so badly to believe this monstrous figure is his father that you almost forget the creature looks like a moldy taxidermy attempt.
And the final moment, when grown-up Isaac returns to the ruined structure and the faceless remains of the creature?
Chef’s kiss.
It’s melancholy horror done right.
Robert: The Family Friend Who Definitely Should Have Moved Away Immediately
Robert, bless him, tries.
He tries to comfort Isaac.
He tries to help Laura.
He tries to keep things normal.
And that’s exactly why he ends up hospitalized by a creature that looks like a forest cryptid who failed art school.
If this film’s moral is “don’t try to help horror protagonists,” then Robert is the sacrificial lamb for the lesson.
A Third Act That Actually Delivers
Too many horror movies start strong and end with a limp whimper.
Not this one.
The third act is chaos in the best way:
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Laura spots the creature lying on Isaac like some kind of humanoid bedbug
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Isaac screams
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Doors slam
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Creatures sprint
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Knives fly
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And Laura absolutely wrecks the monster
It’s intense, bloody, and viscerally satisfying — the kind of sequence that makes you yell “YES GET HIM” at the screen like you’re watching a football match.
The Ending: Bittersweet, Quiet, and Weirdly Beautiful
Years later, Isaac returns home.
The creature is gone.
The woods are silent.
The past is dead — literally, rotting on the ground.
He returns to Laura and calls her “mum,” which is adorable considering she once stabbed a creature in front of him.
The film doesn’t end with a stinger scare.
No cheap jumps.
Just a quiet acceptance that life goes on after horror.
Before you know it, you’re calling your stepmum “mum” and hoping your forest-dad doesn’t crawl back from the afterlife.
Final Verdict: A Beautiful, Creepy, Emotionally-Wrecking Little Gem
Daddy’s Head is:
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atmospheric
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deeply emotional
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beautifully bleak
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and filled with dark humor if you squint hard enough
It’s a story about grief, identity, and the terrifying possibility that something wearing your dad’s face might crawl out of the forest at 3 a.m.
Is it disturbing?
Absolutely.
Is it heartfelt?
Weirdly, yes.
Is it worth watching?
Without question.
Just maybe… don’t watch it alone.
And definitely don’t watch it if your step-parent situation is already complicated.
