Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Daina Reid
Starring: Sarah Snook, Lily LaTorre, Damon Herriman, Greta Scacchi
A decade ago I found myself constantly bemoaning the cheap reliance on
jump scares in mainstream horror movies. Lazy as they might be, at least
jump scares keep you awake. The current trend for "elevated" horror
movies is rapidly devolving into a mass of uninspired, derivative films
that have replaced jump scares with slow zooms, and thrills and suspense
with character backstories, usually revolving around suppressed trauma.
Christ they're dull.
The latest example is director Daina Reid and writer
Hannah Kent's elevated Ozploitation thriller
Run Rabbit Run. Like so many of these movies, it features a female protagonist
suppressing a dark secret from her past. Here it's Sarah Snook as
Sarah, a divorced mother to a seven-year-old, Mia (Lily LaTorre).
We find Sarah struggling to move on from the death of her father, with
whom she and Mia shared their home. It's years since she has seen her
mother, Joan (Greta Scacchi), who is now resident of a care home.
When Mia speaks about missing her grandfather, Sarah is sympathetic. But
when Mia claims she's missing Joan, Sarah is confused, as Mia has never
met Joan.
As if that wasn't worrying enough for Sarah, Mia then claims to be
Alice, Sarah's younger sister who mysteriously disappeared when she was
Mia's age. When Sarah is called to Joan's care home to tie up some loose
ends left by her father's passing, she stays with Mia in her childhood
home, which only serves to dredge up a past Sarah is desperate to
escape.
A recurring issue with so-called "elevated" horror movies is a lack of
peril. It's unclear who we should be worried for here. Sarah is a far
from sympathetic protagonist, so it's difficult for us to care what
might happen to her, particularly when her backstory is teased out. And
we know the movie is unlikely to kill a cute kid, so we're never all
that concerned about Mia's fate. While inhabited by the spirit of Alice,
or whatever's actually going on here, Mia is the one who poses a threat
to Sarah in exposing her past. There are no supporting characters placed
in peril either, so if you're playing a drinking game based on taking a
shot every time someone meets a grisly end, your mouth will be as dry as
the outback by the time the credits roll.
Sarah's murky past is left ambiguous until the movie's dying minutes,
but it's unlikely any viewer will be unable to put two and two together
and figure it out long before that reveal. I can't understand why so
many recent movies are choosing to withhold obvious plot details in this
manner. Run Rabbit Run is yet another thriller that would
undoubtedly have made for a more engaging watch had it laid its cards on
the table rather than trying to outwit its audience. It's as though
we're seeing the work of the first generation of genre filmmakers who
are unfamiliar with the lessons of Hitchcock and are instead taking
their storytelling cues from procedural TV shows.
Run Rabbit Run is almost devoid of anything that might be
considered a scare, and it's barely a horror movie. A white bunny pops
up, apparently as a harbinger of doom, but the shots of the cute lil
critter accompanied by ominous music are about as terrifying as
Night of the Lepus. Mia dons a hand-made pink bunny mask, which I guess is supposed to be
unsettling, but the movie never makes it work.
It's a shame the direction and script are so weak here, as there's
some good work on display in other departments. Snook may be lumbered
with an uninspired role but she does her best to humanise the character.
LaTorre gives a very natural performance and manages to give the movie
its few creepy moments. Cinematographer Bonnie Elliott makes
effective use of the windswept Australian coast, all overcast skies and
looming clouds. But the performances and cinematography only serve to
highlight the film's narrative shortcomings.
