Directed by Daina Reid, Run Rabbit Run stars Sarah Snook, Lily LaTorre, Damon Herriman, and Greta Scacchi. The movie is an Australian psychological horror-thriller which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, but receives its worldwide premiere today courtesy of Netflix.
In the film, Sarah is a fertility doctor and single mother who lives with her daughter Mia. As the movie begins it is Mia’s birthday and as Sarah and Mia return home from work and school, Mia discovers a white rabbit sat on the doorstep.
While Mia believes the rabbit to be a birthday present, Sarah explains that it must belong to someone else. However, keen not to upset her daughter on her birthday, Sarah allows Mia to keep the rabbit in a temporary enclosure in the back garden.
Later that night, once Mia has gone to bed, Sarah lets the bunny out of the enclosure and attempts to shoo the animal away. In turn, the rabbit bites Sarah – which is something Mia witnesses from her bedroom window.
The next morning Mia puts on a makeshift rabbit mask and begins acting a little strange around her mother. She also asks Sarah a number of questions about her recently deceased grandfather, as well as her estranged grandmother Joan, who she has never met.
Moving forward it becomes very clear to Sarah that something is wrong with Mia. But why is her daughter behaving differently, and what does this all have to do with her own mother?
Dark, foreboding and at times a little unsettling, Run Rabbit Run is an atmospheric horror-thriller which deals with domestic trauma, a past tragedy, and mental illness. The film is a curious piece, with Sarah and Mia at the centre of a story shrouded in mystery, which slowly unfolds over its 100-minute runtime.
Similar in tone and presentation to films such as The Babadook and Hereditary, Run Rabbit Run is not about jump scares or extreme gore, it is instead something which works on a more cerebral level. The film wants to hook its audience with its central themes and story, and keep up the interest with its ominous narrative and characterisation.
For the most part it achieves this very well, and although it’s not exceptional, it is well put together. While the film isn’t as strong as the two titles mentioned above, and the resolution to the story can be seen a mile away, Run Rabbit Run delivers an effective tale with the power to cause a few chills.
Sarah Snook and Lily LaTorre lead the movie as Sarah and Mia respectively, and their interactions and dynamic feel very real. Snook plays the role of a slightly frazzled single mother rather well, while LaTorre is impressive as young Mia, and demonstrates the qualities of a young actress with a bright future ahead.
Both cast members are then backed up by strong direction from Daina Reid, and an intriguing (if slightly heavy handed) script from Hannah Kent. This is Kent’s first feature film as a writer, so a few familiar metaphors are excused, but with this on her CV I look forward to seeing how her writing skills develop with future projects.
Toss in some solid cinematography from Bonnie Elliott, and an effective score from Mark Bradshaw and Marcus Whale, and Run Rabbit Run has the right ingredients for a decent little horror. It may not always reach its full potential, and the pay-off is a little underwhelming, but the foundations are certainly all here.
Run Rabbit Run is a decent horror title for Netflix, and much better than some of the dross that constantly gets served up on the streaming service. It isn’t outstanding, and I do need to make that clear, but it is quite effective, and does pretty much exactly what it sets out to do.
The film won’t have you hiding behind your sofa in fear, nor will it surprise you at any point, but it should keep your interest. If you’re in the mood for something slightly creepy to get your teeth into over the course of an evening, then Run Rabbit Run could be for you.
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