Daddy's Head

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2:05

Daddy's Head

2024

1h 37m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In the wake of his father's untimely death, a young boy is left in the eerie solitude of a sprawling country estate with his newly widowed stepmother. Struggling to navigate the overwhelming task of parenthood, his stepmother grows distant, leaving their fragile bond at risk of collapse. Amidst the growing tension, the boy begins to hear unsettling sounds echoing through the corridors, and is soon haunted by the presence of a grotesque creature bearing a disturbingly familiar resemblance to his late father. As the boy's warnings are dismissed as the imagination of a grieving child, the sinister entity tightens its grip on their crumbling lives.

Critics Consensus

Daddy's Head is a chilling and atmospheric slice of psychological horror, delivering unsettling imagery and a tense, unpredictable build-up.

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Alison Foreman

IndieWire

10/10/2024

B

Daddy’s Head isn’t likely to stick around as a film that genre fans will revisit often, but as far as haunting and half-baked ghost stories, Shudder subscribers could do worse than this sort-of-good-sort-of-bad pain in the neck.

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

10/08/2024

3/5

A monster, or the supernatural, as a manifestation of uncontainable emotions is hardly a new idea... Daddy’s Head adopts this increasingly familiar tactic, and just about succeeds in freshening it up.

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Meagan Navarro

Bloody Disgusting

09/28/2024

3.5/5

Daddy’s Head is handsomely crafted, with a creature design that’s pure nightmare fuel.

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Rebecca Sayce

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

Jul 23

4/5

After the influx of horror films exploring grief and trauma that the 2020s has been marked by, Daddy's Head feels like a breath of fresh air that will chill you right to your bones – and just in time for Halloween.

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Joshua Ryan

Sunshine State Cineplex

Jul 19

5/10

Despite the cast’s strong efforts and innovative creature design, the film is bogged down by the recycled elements of its overly familiar script.

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John Daniel Tangalin

The Cinema Spot

Jul 19

3.5/5

Despite being a horror film, the narrative doesn’t require a body count to carry it but rather showcases its themes through a story of belief and family matters.

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Toby B

Sep 23

If you were to watch the first 30 minutes of the film, pause it, and then guess what happens... Nine times out of ten you would craft a better story in your head. Do yourself a favor, turn it off, completely, maybe even go for a walk, and just think about your story, your remaining plot, maybe even throw in a little twist. Great! Now go create it! Be a writer, because if this film proves anything, it's that literally anyone can do it, even if they absolutely, 100%, should not.

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Oceane M.

@ocean.goddess Sep 18

This movie had no plot. I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing ever did.

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Nic F

@munitots Sep 5

Really unique, hard to pigeon-hole plot. Had a bit of a 'Midwich Cuckoos' vibe to it, somewhere between mild horror and sci fi, it's a pretty good slow burn. I would have liked to have had the characters fleshed out a little more, as I didn't feel super invested in them from the get go, but it grew on me. (Spoilers ahead) The friend character was a little bit unbelievable as a father of two, who could just drop everything and be there at the main character's whim, I found that a bit annoying. I found it strange that the main character didn't consider staying elsewhere, with her friend (who offered), or at a hotel, etc. She had plenty of money, and didn't seem to need to be anywhere for work or anything. But that is being picky – still very entertaining!

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Nick F

Sep 4

Once again we have a horror movie w both potential and a creepy villain, completely ruined by an incompetent director who doesn’t have a clue how to make a horror movie. Calling this movie “underbaked” is an understatement. Script, execution all felt written and filmed in 1 day. Skip it and watch movies like The Dark and the Wicked, Azrael, Arcadian, and Oddity instead.

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Spike D

@Spike93 Aug 4

Frequently seems to be running low on ideas.

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Samir R.

@samir9577 Aug 1

One of the best movies!

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Benjamin Barfoot

Director

Julia Brown

Actor

Rupert Turnbull

Actor

Charles Aitken

Actor

Nathaniel Martello-White

Actor

Benjamin Barfoot

Screenwriter

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Daddy's Head: Trailer 1

2:05

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Synopsis

In the wake of his father's untimely death, a young boy is left in the eerie solitude of a sprawling country estate with his newly widowed stepmother. Struggling to navigate the overwhelming task of parenthood, his stepmother grows distant, leaving their fragile bond at risk of collapse. Amidst the growing tension, the boy begins to hear unsettling sounds echoing through the corridors, and is soon haunted by the presence of a grotesque creature bearing a disturbingly familiar resemblance to his late father. As the boy's warnings are dismissed as the imagination of a grieving child, the sinister entity tightens its grip on their crumbling lives.

Director: Benjamin Barfoot
Producer: Mathew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan
Screenwriter: Benjamin Barfoot
Distributor: Shudder
Genre: Horror
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2024
Runtime: 1h 37m