Rabbit Trap – Movie Review (2/5)

RABBIT TRAP is a new psychological horror movie with a tiny cast and few locations. The story, however, is both small and vast in the sense that much lies beneath the surface of what we experience. Even too much, for my liking. Read our full Rabbit Trap movie review here!

RABBIT TRAP is a psychological horror movie that deals with folklore and the power of nature. That’s the headline version of the plot, anyway. The actual story of this movie is pretty complex. Even more than it should be.

I loved the small cast featuring three people portraying three wildly different, yet equally fascinating, characters. That’s why I can’t help but wish the plot had been more straightforward overall. Maybe that’s a lazy request, but still.

Continue reading our Rabbit Trap movie review below. Find it in theaters from September 12, 2025.

The power of sound – and nature

When Rabbit Trap opens, it’s with the introduction of married musicians Daphne (Rosy McEwen) and Darcy (Dev Patel). We’re in the 1970s, and they’ve recently moved to the Welsh countryside.

This was a bold move for the city people, who needed a fresh start if they were ever to finish their new record. While Daphne is working in a make-shift studio in their new (yet very old) house, Darcy is out and about.

He works with collecting audio samples from nature for their experimental and futuristic sound. However, their life is about to change in a wild way when Darcy inadvertently records a mysterious and profound sound in nature.

It’s a sound that has never been heard by human ears, and it appears to unlock something.

How do you fight back against the unknown?!

With the discovery of this strange sound, Daphne feels her creative energy is renewed. Unfortunately, this in turn seems to awaken something else in the nature around them.

One day, a stranger arrives. It’s a person they refer to as “he”, and the couple seems to see the person as a boy, but the actor is a woman (Jade Croot), which adds to the mysterious vibe of the character.

While Daphne and Darcy are initially ready to welcome this stranger, it takes a strange and even sinister turn. Suddenly, paranoia and jealousy become paramount feelings in this recently calm and beautiful home.

Watch Rabbit Trap in theaters

Rabbit Trap was written and directed by Bryn Chainey. The psychological horror movie enjoyed its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, which I can only imagine as the best possible match.

On paper, this story about the power of sound and nature, with added elements of folklore, is right up my alley. Even the blurring lines between reality and myth usually work for me.

Unfortunately, the storytelling just becomes too jumbled for my liking. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mindset for watching it? I say this because I enjoyed parts of it and could go along for the emotional ride for quite some time.

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Having had the pleasure and priveledge of reading the filmmaker’s own words about the movie. Particularly how it deals with trauma. I think the following quote explains the movie better than I ever could, so here goes…

“The Rabbit Trap will be a psychological horror that is a feast for the senses, deeply personal and singularly weird, yet full of heart and catharsis.” – Bryn Chainey

I can recognize this in the movie. And yet, I can’t help but shake the feeling that while I felt the story, I was also left with more questions than I would’ve liked.

This is a drawback that I can’t ignore, while I still want to encourage people to experience it for themselves. I mean, the runtime is just 88 minutes, and the cast was amazing with all three (Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, and Jade Croot) delivering memorable portraits.

RABBIT TRAP is out in theaters on September 12, 2025.

Details

Director: Bryn Chainey
Writer: Bryn Chainey
Cast: Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot