Run Rabbit Run

This Australian chiller is centred on Sarah and Mia; a doctor and her seven year old daughter. Sarah's father has decently died and Mia has started to act strangely. She has taken to wearing a rabbit mask and insists that she is really named Alice. Perhaps these are just childhood games but when they visit Mia's grandmother, who suffers from dementia, she calls her Alice without being prompted. Over the course of the film they head to Sarah's childhood home where Mia's behaviour becomes more disturbing and we learn who Alice was and what happened to her. I know a lot of people aren't that keen on this film but it really worked for me. For much of its run time it had me wondering what was happening; is Mia possessed by the spirit of Alice? Is Sarah going insane or is there another explanation? The Outback locations used for much of the film add to the atmosphere as they provide a sense of isolation for Sarah and Mia. The acting is impressive; especially from Sarah Snook, as Sarah and young Lily LaTorre as Mia. Not all questions are answered and while I liked the somewhat ambiguous ending I can understand why it might frustrate some viewers. Overall I'd recommend it to those who enjoy a good chiller and don't demand lots of action and scares.

Yeah, it's an Australian film, with a significantly lower budget than anything Hollywood has to offer but the suggestion that it's not a real horror movie is both ignorant and shows the excessive level of gore and action needed for a brainless and desensitised generation. It was more a thriller horror; but one that followed the likes of a more old school style.. slow build up (which a lot of people now don't have the patience to sit through), eeriness with some mild violence (rather than excessive blood and guts, just for the sake of it), and again, an obviously lower budget, though I felt the setting and style made it more creepy than expensive, clean film work. Anyone who gave this a lot score clearly doesn't actually appreciate film.. they just need something loud and chaotic, to distract them from their boring reality.

It started with a lot of promise, the right amount of tension, engaging actors and a story that was worth following for about half an hour. Then bang, suddenly the stereotypical features of a horror film start gliding in - the unexplained appearance of the bunny, the disappearing photo frames and all with no connection to the story that was vaguely being established. Unfortunately the drama within the horror fails. Sarah Snook does her very best but the role is underwritten and goes nowhere in the end. The idea that her character is evil isn't established at all so when she's suddenly hurting others in the film it really falls flat. Such a shame because it started very well but the writing didn't hold up and should have had some serious script consultancy. If you love horror then you can give this a miss.

I've never written a review on here before, but... here we are! I have never been so unhappy with a suspense movie. I thought it was written by a man who had never met a woman, let alone a mother, but half way through I saw a woman wrote this! I was shocked that the writing was so bad between a mother and her young daughter. Also sooo many cliches were in this movie I couldn't stand them, and I like camp! I'm a scaredy-cat and usually watch good scary movies through my fingers, but during this I just kept rolling my eyes and says "omg that's so dumb". Ok that's it. Yuck is my final review friends.

It may seem strange that the music is my first mention of what's lacking with this movie, but the music exactly reflects the storyline and plot, long, drawn out, repetitive and nauseatingly misguided. If a neighbour straining across the Cello at 3am after an emotional hiccup Isn't likely to annoy you, then enjoy. If however you're in any way reasonable, you'll likely find this film too affected in it's misguided belief that the story is in any way original or unpredictable. From the little girl to the lead actress, Sarah Snook (who isn't any different here to the role she plays in Succession, comfy trouser-pants and all) the film is a diatribe of annoyance and irritation. It's so easy to figure out and despite the mewling Cello music, there are no jump scares and it's entirely as expected, mediocre and miserable. Greta Scacchi was wasted and could have had a better, bigger role and the writing really let down the cast. It simply didn't work as a haunting psychological thriller and there were many directions it could have gone but didn't. The writing and direction asked the audience to suspend their disbelief for too long, promising something terrible to come, yet delivering nothing but a mentally unstable women, something that even the Rabbit picked up on from the outset. The rest was a slog and not worth the time or effort.