Father of Flies Review | Road Rash Reviews

4 stars of creepy and unsettling Indie horror.

Father of Flies is a 2022 independent horror film, written by Nadia Doherty and Ben Charles Edwards (Set the Thames On Fire), who also directs what is an impressive second feature, boding well for things to come.

It is dedicated to the late Nicholas Tucci, who puts in a remarkable performance in what proved to be one of his final films. It is now available on Digital Platforms in the UK courtesy of 101 Films.

“I have to go home. I can’t stand being around that creepy Mary Poppins. You know, the other day I caught her just staring at herself, for at least 20 minutes.”

Richard (Nicholas Tucci – You’re Next, Myth) is recently separated from his wife Linda (Sandra Andreis – The Head, We Got This) who suffers from severe mental health issues. He lives with his children, young son Michael (Keaton Tetlow) and teenage daughter Donna (Page Ruth), who are understandably upset and missing their mother.

To make matters worse, he is thinking of moving in his new girlfriend Coral (Camilla Rutherford – Yesterday, A Bird Flew In) who has cornered the market on unapproachable by wearing a weird plastic massage mask around the house. Their lives are thrown into turmoil one night by the sudden arrival of their mother demanding to see the children.

When she leaves, reeling from her departure they attempt to continue with their lives. Coral remains aloof and Richard is away on business too often to see what is really going on. Donna avoids the house as much as possible, leaving the hard of hearing and vulnerable Michael home alone to deal with Coral. He is lucky to have a friend in next door neighbour Mrs. Start (Colleen Heidemann) who seems to realise there is a problem.

Sinister goings on soon follow, there is obviously an evil entity at play, but what is it and what does it want?

“Darling, every family has it’s demons.”

Father of Flies is an enjoyable film, and excellently unsettling. There are many quiet parts which emphasize the remoteness of the location and also the creeping tension which pervades the story. The lovely landscapes are used to good effect and the acting from a group made up mostly of relative unknowns is pretty good.

It does have it’s issues, the pacing is a bit slow and it takes a long time to get going. The characters could have been better developed too, a bit more background would have helped us to relate. It was also a bit worrying, if dancing seductively to The Cure is all it takes to summon a demon then who knows what we were all unwittingly doing on dance floors up and down the country in the late eighties.

However, it’s a really good idea for a story and the twist is shocking and well worth the wait. Grab yourself some popcorn and settle down to enjoy this new psychological thriller.

“I miss having someone to ask me ‘Do you remember when..?’ All of those experiences and all of that life lived and now I’m just myself and my fading memories.”