Rabbit Trap (2025) [Movie Review] — A Muted Folk-Horror That Refuses to Hold Your Hand

Director & Writer: Bryn Chainey

Stars: Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot, and Nicholas Sampson.

Rating: ★★⯪☆☆ (2.5 / 5)

Overview — What the film intends

Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap is a small-scale psychological horror that opts for mood over clarity. Set in late-1970s Wales and anchored by two experimental musicians, the film trades conventional scares for slow-burn atmosphere: mossy hills, creaking floors, and a persistent sense that something is listening just out of frame. If you admire films that treat silence and sound design as principal characters, there is a lot here to admire — but the pleasures are patient and often austere.

Narrative — Ambiguity as a barrier

At its centre is a deliberately elliptical story about Darcy (Dev Patel) and Daphne (Rosy McEwen), whose lives are unsettled after Darcy collapses in a mushroom-ringed clearing and a strange child appears. The film prefers suggestion to exposition, implying trauma and ritual through texture rather than explicit revelation. That restraint can be intriguing, but it often tips into obfuscation: plot beats feel half-sketched, and viewers seeking a throughline may find themselves more puzzled than provoked.

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Performances — Understated work

Patel and McEwen do sturdy work in roles that demand small, internal shifts rather than big gestures. McEwen quietly conveys a woman fraying at the edges, and Patel’s inwardness suits the film’s mood. Jade Croot’s unnerving child performance is effective as a catalyst — less explained than emblematic — while Nicholas Sampson fills supporting moments without calling undue attention to himself. The acting is confident; the problem is the script rarely gives them firm ground to land on.

Craft — Sound and image as the lead players

Technically, Rabbit Trap is most successful. Andreas Johannessen’s cinematography and Graham Reznick’s sound design build an oppressive, tactile world: drips, wind, the hollow resonance of caves. Practical effects and in-camera tricks lend the film a lived-in eeriness. These elements frequently outshine the narrative, suggesting a director who knows how to stage dread even when he refuses to answer its questions.

Direction & Writing — Promise, not payoff

Chainey’s debut shows a clear aesthetic — and a reluctance to commit to explanation fully. The film wears its influences on its sleeve (folk-horror touchstones are audible and visible), yet it rarely transcends homage into original argument. The ending, when it arrives, feels more like a mood note than a resolution, which will delight some viewers and frustrate many.

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Verdict — For patient viewers only

Rabbit Trap is a finely made, stubbornly obscure mood piece: beautiful in texture, lean on narrative payoff. Treat it as an experience to inhabit rather than a puzzle to solve. If you crave tangible answers, this dry, atmospheric entry may feel maddeningly incomplete; if you relish films that prioritize sound and sensation over plot, it will reward repeat viewings.