Inherited trauma has been a clear theme running through horror films over the past couple of years, with the plots of Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, Ari Aster’s Hereditary, and, to some extent, Nikyatu Jusu’s Nanny all playing with ideas around the psychological fallout of generational suffering and closely held family secrets.
This trend looks set to continue, and Netflix’s next horror, an Australian drama starring Sarah Snook, who plays Shiv in Succession, is next in line.
Run Rabbit Run, whose trailer dropped yesterday, tells the story of a mother and daughter who are haunted by loss. They both start acting strangely as they cope with their emotions, but things, predictably, take an eerie turn, as the daughter seems to become possessed by her dead aunt.
What’s Run Rabbit Run about?
Snook plays Sarah, a divorced doctor who lives with her a seven-year-old daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre). The duo are grappling with the fallout of some difficult events: Mia is unsettled by the death of her grandfather, and Sarah is also managing her own reactions to his death while also coming to terms with her mother’s dementia diagnosis.
So, everyone is already on edge. But then, after her birthday, Mia becomes extremely interested in Sarah’s dead sister, Alice, going so far as to say that she is Alice. Judging by the trailer alone, it’s difficult to decipher what is in Sarah’s head, whether Mia is simply playing games, or whether the spirit of Alice really has taken hold of her, as the lines between reality, the imagined and the supernatural, start to blend.
Who stars in Run Rabbit Run?
Snook reportedly replaced Elisabeth Moss, who was signed up to play the lead role until 2021. Snook, who had roles in more than two dozen films and TV shows before landing her Golden Globe-winning role on Succession, returns to play an Australian in Run Rabbit Run. The horror was filmed in South Australia’s Riverland region, and she plays Sarah with her native Australian accent.
“There’s hardly a frame of the film that Sarah’s not in,” said producer Anna McLeish to NME. “Her work in Australia before that had been really accomplished and really amazing, but I don’t think she’d really had that kind of opportunity to carry a film to that extent… It’s really exciting for audiences to see Sarah Snook, particularly international audiences who really identify mainly with her now as Shiv, in such a different place.”
Damon Herriman, whose past credits include Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the Netflix series Mindhunter, and award-winning actor Greta Scacchi (Heat and Dust, Presumed Innocent) also star.
When is Run Rabbit Runbeing released?
Run Rabbit Run premiered in the Midnight section at Sundance Film Festival 2023 in January, which is dedicated to the horror genre. Then, it was announced this week that it will also be part of the official programme of the Sydney Film Festival, which runs in mid-June.
The film will be released on Netflix on June 28.
Who made Run Rabbit Run?
Run Rabbit Run has been directed by Daina Reid, who was nominated for an Emmy in 2019 for directing some episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Her production company Carver Films was involved with the development of a number of highly-acclaimed films such as psychological horror Relic, which starred Emily Mortimer and was nominated for five Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards, and Justin Kurzel’s Snowtown, which won six AACTA awards including Best Director. Reid also directed some episodes of the Apple TV+ series Shining Girls, starring Elisabeth Moss.
Australian award-winning writer Hannah Kent, who wrote Burial Rites (2013) and The Good People (2016) has written the script. Burial Rites, which The Guardian described as “beautiful and compelling” and “the announcement of a writer to watch”, fictionalised the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be executed in Iceland ” set in 1830.
What have the critics said about Run Rabbit Run?
Despite the thrilling premise, reviews have been mixed about the upcoming horror film, arguing that its exciting plotlines fall short of reaching a satisfying conclusion.
“Reid’s steadfast commitment to ambiguity means that it’s never established who or what should be feared – only that Snook’s dramatic range shouldn’t be underestimated,” said Sight and Sound, while The Hollywood Reporter said, “Moody and atmospheric, Run Rabbit Run easily builds tension and dread. And yet, it keeps hinting at depth that never comes.”
However Variety described the horror as providing “a surprisingly uncompromising finale which goes to places other motherhood horrors fear to tread,” saying, “Fans of the ‘I Love You, My Child, But You’re Really Creeping Mommy Out Right Now’ subgenre have a treat in store with Daina Reid’s Run Rabbit Run.”
