Run Rabbit Run

Saw this back at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The story is about a Fertility doctor named Sarah begins her beloved daughter Mia's seventh birthday expecting nothing amiss. But as an ominous wind swirls in, Sarah's carefully controlled world begins to alter. Australian director Daina Reid takes influence on slow-burn artsy style horror movies like "The Babadook" and tries to create a chilly horror story about ghosts, children, and past. However, despite gorgeous camerawork and a great performance from Sarah Snook, "Run Rabbit Run" suffers from inconsistent narrative and uneven pacing. Reid no doubt does offer some interesting ideas and her talents are exposed. But the problem is that the film doesn't have a clear tone what it wants to be and the positive moments are overshadowed by dull writing and really unlikeable characters.

The production design is pretty simple but it helped to create the Australian landscape setting and creepiness. The performances are a mix of good and bad. As I mentioned Snook's performance was excellent as she was able to capture the emotions of her character but the performances from Lily LaTorre and Damon Herriman while they try their best, it didn't work as their performances were over or underacted. None of the characters were really investing and some of them really comes off as frustrating and I wish they were given enough depth but unfortunately had no emotionally barring to connect with. The story provides an interesting concept and scenario but the writing struggles to maintain itself and becomes really bland and predictable. I don't mind slow pace films as I enjoy art-house and slow pace films if the writing was done well. But here, the pacing ruins much of the films tension as the uneven pacing creates more of a dullness experience rather than feeling of being scared. Australian cinema is no strange to horror films as there are some great ones out there but there are also some really garbage ones as well. Here, it's not terrible but it just didn't work for me.

Rating: C.

I usually like this kind of film and I wholeheartedly went into it since there were only 2 reviews at the time! If I had known that this film is so slow and makes you hoping something, just something please happen, I wouldn't have wasted my time! That's essentially how I feel , that I wasted my time! Even though I have to applaud the acting abilities of the main character and even her daughter the movie just stretched on and on. The film deals with the concept of something bad happened in the past but the main protagonist doesn't remember ( or does she?) We are made believe that the grand mother is evil ( but is she , really?) What role does the grand father play in all this? Without giving anything away there was not much horror and suspense, not enough to keep me from pausing and getting up several times to do chores ! The ending also is very disappointing! Overall the whole film feels spliced together with different people popping in and out at different times and having no impact on the story! I don't think it's worth watching but if you don't mind the slow pace go ahead!

What a disappointment. A good premise and an interesting first act that leads nowhere. A film that constantly revolves around the same thing, wrapped in a web that it can't unravel, becoming repetitive, unengaging, and predictable. Grief, trauma and a sense of guilt are big themes here and they proportionate some good scenes, but it becomes too much of the same, not justifying its duration at all.

Sarah Snook tries to swim against the tide, but even she becomes tiresome, having to go in circles in this story. To top it off, an ending that doesn't reward us for anything at all. This should have been good.

I wouldn't call Run Rabbit Run a horror movie... It's much more a traditional ghost story. The acting and directing is decent but the pacing is a little odd... Maybe we need a little more time with the characters at the beginning to care more about what they're experiencing. It's hard to relate to the main character because we don't know a lot about her and aren't really shown any redeemable/relatable qualities we can latch on to as she starts to confront the strange goings-on around her. Overall I found it watchable but caught myself getting distracted as I watched it so I don't think I was very invested. It wasn't bad enough for me to turn it off but I also doubt I'll ever watch it again.

'Run Rabbit Run' is everything I hate in a horror film. An unrealistic story, that isn't scary or horrifying in any way and features extremely annoying characters that are impossible to care for. This was a tough watch for all the wrong reasons.

The film has no point. It has no reason for the audience to be invested. There are no stakes. You could say we are supposed to be curious about the explanation to what is going on, but the film isn't exactly subtle. We have the gist of what is happening, we just need some minor details filled in. It isn't enough.

But if you're in the mood for 100 minutes of a mother and daughter screaming at each other then this might just be the film for you. However, if you're like me and that sounds like the worst thing in the world, then chances are you'll detest watching this one as much as I did. 3/10.