RABBIT – THE HALLOWEEN HORRORS COLLECTION

By Guest Reviewer The Creepy Concierge

If you fancy a bit of Horror with a touch of the rural psycho-thriller you could do worse than Luke Shanahan’s RABBIT (2017). 

Adelaide Clemens (Silent Hill: Revelation) carries the film as medical student Maude forced to return from overseas to her native Australia in a desperate attempt to find her missing identical twin. Chaos, confusion, suggestion, and unnerving events ensue as Maude is dragged deeper into a mystery that threatens to break the apparently very special bond that identical twins are often reported as having.

The ‘missing-girl-and-the-quest-to-find-her‘ trope is on full display here and original as it might not be there is some pleasure to be had in watching the familiar story beats play out in this Australian indie thriller. Clemens grabs the role with both hands and does some fairly subtle work and her various and sundry emotional gymnastics are never less than interesting. She handles the psychological rollercoaster ride her character takes with great aplomb and this reviewer, at least, found her never less than compelling. In fact, I found it difficult to take my eyes off her regardless of the sometimes patchy and credulity–stretching narrative developments. 

Technical departments are all up to snuff. Clean cinematography and effective but distinctly subdued production design allow the story to play out without too much distraction and the score does the job it’s meant to do to without sticking its head above the parapet too often. Though when it does, trust me, you’ll hear it and feel it.  

There is no doubt that despite the solid work of the supporting cast Clemens owns the film and often looks just as confused by the unfolding events as we the viewers are intended to be. Her character has a lot to unpack if she is ever to discover the fate of her missing sister Cleo; navigating ex-boyfriends, less than helpful neighbours and what might just be a sinister cult up to the classic ‘no good’.

RABBIT at times is cryptic, mysterious and unsettling and this story of an errant sibling and the tangled web unveiled by the investigation into her disappearance is certainly intriguing. Heavy on atmosphere with some intermittent and disturbingly unpleasant violence it does, on occasion, subvert expectations. Is it an easy watch? No, not always, and it may well leave you scratching your head when you reach the end of the probably longer than necessary run time. But what better excuse for giving it the second go around some viewers might need, including this one, to grasp some of the more ambiguous ideas and concepts it presents

RABBIT is free to watch, right here, as part of the HALLOWEEN HORRORS collection on w4free.com.