Written by: Ryan Dailey
Motherhood. That one word can do so many things. It can be used as a label for a never-ending cycle of a woman’s life.This word can be shoe-horned into any cookie-cutter, paint by numbers Hallmark card to ensure a spike in sales during Mother’s Day.
Then this powerful word can be the foundation for tense, well-done horror, such as in Rosemary’s Baby, Inside and Run Rabbit Run.
Daiana Reid delivers to the horror nation the story of a fertility doctor, Sarah, (Sarah Snook) whose 7 year-old daughter Mia, (Lily LaTorre) claims that she is Alice, Sarah’s sister that disappeared when Sarah was a young child.
Hannah Kent did a fantastic job at writing a script that shows just how close Sarah is to breaking down even before the gist of the film is revealed. Sarah has a lot on her plate. A less than ideal relationship with her mother, A recently deceased father and an ex that is moving on by starting a new family.
Run Rabbit Run is a great drama/elevated horror film that delivers tension and scares without some big bad standing outside the window or waiting to burst out of the closet. The film tells the tale of a vicious cycle of nature versus nurture while simultaneously forcing the audience to wonder if Alice is real, or is Sarah projecting?
The film is a shining example of using cinematography and backdrops to establish mood. When Sarah is not slipping into the depths of insanity, the film is dark, like there is something looming over our protagonist. The scenes where Sarah is losing her grip, the use of mildly shaky static shots and mild, blurry distortion come into play.
It is no secret that Netflix gives the green light to so many projects that seem as though the manuscripts were retrieved from the trash, filmed and hastily slapped onto subscribers screens.
Run Rabbit Run breaks that mold. The film is not for those that want over the top, 1980’s slasher gore, nudity and profanity. This movie is for those that want to lose themselves in a brilliantly created world filled with fantastically fleshed out characters, this film can not come any more highly recommended.
Run Rabbit Run is streaming on Netflix as of this writing.