British horror wilfully disorients viewers with a tightly structured script, and a little dash of Tobe Hooper's Poltegeist

A powerful parable about disintegrating families and stolen childhood

The confusion of incident and memory add to the sense of creepiness and disorientation which Tetlow's performance and the heightened visual style creates.

The anachronistic feel of the film paired with the off-setting set design and the low contrast filter applied in post production comes together with the haunting score and cinematography to deliver one of the most frightening horror films of 2021.

Director Ben Charles Edwards delivers gripping horror inspired by his childhood. It is all about tension, unease and an increasingly eerie atmosphere, all of which Edwards delivers in spades.

I really enjoyed this movie, as you can tell that its creator was using it as some form of exorcism. I want to know how they got The Cure on the soundtrack on their budget. And the scene that they provide the music for is absolutely astounding, as the new mother figure throws herself around the house dancing while wearing a Rejuvenique massage mask…

Edwards takes old sources of fear – something just outside the door, something under the bed, glaring static on an old cathode ray TV set – and gives them back their power. Unfolding slowly, with a chilling smoothness, the film effortlessly draws viewers in […] it’s a highly impressive second feature, signalling the arrival of a significant new talent.

It takes the essence of a really good King novel and works it into something that is similar, but never the same. With the result of Edwards’ labour of love being such a complex and entrancing movie, it’s a shame that it took a tragedy to make it a reality. Now it is in the world though I highly recommend you seek Father of Flies out as soon as you can…