Rabbit Trap gives the vibe of a folk-horror film and got sold as a folk-horror film. Throw in a plot built around analog sound equipment, and the more hopeful, well-rounded horror fans might have thought, Blow Out with evil fairies!
That audience represented about $30,000 box office. They likely didn’t contribute a lot of positive word-of-mouth either because Rabbit Trap is a bit of a bait-and-switch. It’s not so much a folk-horror film as it is a meditation on childhood trauma.
Let’s look at whether or not watching it as a traumatic experience. Spoilers will happen.
Rabbit Trap
Rabbit Trap is the brainchild of British/Australian filmmaker/ writer Bryn Chainey. It is his first feature film. Elijah Wood is one of the producers. Somehow, that makes total sense. Once it is over, the viewer thinks:
I can see Elijah Wood being attracted to this. The film totally matches Wood’s entire aura. It’s whimsical in a slightly creepy way. Elijah probably isn’t a closeted serial killer, but he certainly has a box full of tied up Barbie dolls hidden in a wall…
Everyone’s favorite Slumdog Millionaire Dev Patel stars. We haven’t seen him since Monkey Man, but he still has his abs. Dev spends most of the film working his puppy dog eyes to maximum effect. He plays a sound technician who wanders the Welsh (Yorkshire) countryside recording noises.
Imagine Ben Burtt with a penchant curry rice, sexily disheveled hair and a perpetual look of perplexed. Yet, he is not so dreamy that a woman can’t fart around him.
Rosey McEwen (Apartment 7A and a Black Mirror episode) portrays Dev’s partner.
She is a musician who wants to be the next Yoko Ono, or maybe Bjork with zero commercial appeal. Her and Dev move into a cottage in the countryside, so she can pursue her muse apart from reality, which would daily remind her she would have more success as a grocery store clerk.
As for why Dev’s character puts up with that, he’s damaged goods himself.
You Rascally Rabbit Trap
The basic story of Rabbit Trap is thus: Dev and Rosey cross paths with a mysterious child after disturbing a fairy ring, which sets them on a journey that resembles some sort of plot.
Jade Croot plays the child. Croot is a “former” child actress, and even though she is 27 years old, she can still play childlike roles. This creates an interesting dynamic onscreen. Croot is genuinely excellent in Rabbit Trap.
She successfully presents a child persona and then switches it into something more threatening by portraying more aged behavior. None of it comes off as fake because she is genuinely maturer than the image she presents because she is an adult.
The fact that Croot also plays a boy character in the film lends to the disturbing quality of the performance. Everything about the character seems off, even though they look like a relatively normal human boy…or at least a normal Welsh human boy.
Alas, Croot’s wonderful work ultimately falls flat.
Rabbit Trap Door
What sinks Rabbit Trap is that it doesn’t want to be a simple folk-horror movie. It has higher aims. While that’s commendable to a degree, it is ultimately unsatisfying for the viewer, who likely showed up to watch Blow Out with evil fairies.
The film has a nice slow burn to it, which Croot adds to by gradually amping up her performance, as well. Yet, the important part of a slow burn is that it leads to an explosion that makes the wait worth it. Rabbit Trap is simply a fuse attached to nothing. In the end, the film is about a man coming to terms with his sexual abuse. Rabbit Trap never explicitly states that, but it seems to be the obvious conclusion. Croot’s character is then representative of that abuse manifesting in that man’s life.
Rabbit Trap might remind Outposters of the 1978 British horror film The Shout. Both films feature a secluded man and woman, with sound equipment, who have their relationship invaded by a mysterious character. Rabbit Trap displays elements that can ensnare the viewer: Croot’s performance, some solid dialogue and a palpable tone. Yet, The Shout does everything better. Escape the trap and watch The Shout instead…
