Daddy’s Head – Interview with Film Writer / Director Benjamin Barfoot

Listen to the interview and read the transcript below — edited and condensed for clarity:

Hi, I'm Shaurya Thapa of Borrowing Tape, and today, I'm joined by Benjamin Barfoot, the writer and director of the 2024 horror drama Daddy's Head. Welcome Benjamin. Firstly, before I get into your film, I want to discuss the title of your film because people who have no context might end up thinking that this title is supposed to be provocative or is peculiar intentionally. So, what's the story behind the title Daddy's Head? Was it always in your mind or did it have another working title initially?

No, it was that. It was Daddy's Head. It's been an amusing experience to see people's reaction over the time of that title, because, if you've seen the film, it's essentially just a literal title, right? Daddy's Head. I mean, I couldn't be more literal, really. But, for whatever reason, everyone seems to have extra connotations to the title. And then then actually me realizing that over time. I mean, obviously, there was a maybe a slight wasn't just a literal title — it was a slight punk element. I like the way it sounded slightly anyway; it was kind of just a little bit punky [and] kind of weird. But it actually, I think towards the end of making the film, I started looking for a new title because even the actress, Julia Brown, who plays Laura, I remember doing one first read-through with, and she was like, "So, the title." I was like, "Uhh..." But I tried to find other titles and realized that whether you love it or hate it or like it, think it's weird, or you're fine with it — you remember it. So I was like, well, sticking with it then.

That's perfect. Yeah, I mean, I'll never forget the title.

Exactly right.

Your film is about a young boy, Isaac, who is grieving the loss of his father. And then he starts witnessing supernatural phenomenon. But personal loss, like stories around personal loss and tragedies, they aren't new to horror. And as of late, after films like A Ghost Story or Hereditary, that trope is being reinterpreted for modern audiences. But while directing Daddy's Head, how did you consciously try to avoid familiar horror cliches?

Well, I mean, I came up with this story. I've noticed some people have talked about [The] Babadook, and they've took this or that. And the funny thing is, when you read those things, you're like, I mean, I came up with this story long before those films ever came out. So when people are obviously ripping them off, and I'm like, well, I'm obviously not because I didn't, I wrote that probably five or 10 years before that movie. So, I don't.

I'm not trying for anything more than something that freaks me out, or scares me, or I get a feeling or an emotion from. And, I suppose the easiest answer would probably be if I saw something in my head that I was doing that felt like a trope or it felt like I'd seen it before. I've been in my head; I wouldn't. I've had ideas where I'm like, oh, it's cool. And then I'll sit there for a bit and think about it and be like, nah, it's just too like that, isn't it? I'm hopeful what's happening really is the filter system in my head is stopping me from trying to reinvent things organically in my mind to make me get a strong feeling in my head.

But were there any horror films or non-horror films that served as inspiration for Daddy's Head?

Yeah, for sure. Under the Skin is definitely a film that I loved, and I just love the tone of it, and I love the feel of it — really stuck with me. And, I don't know whether anyone's ever tried to say Under the Skin as a horror, but it's to me, I think it's like it's very much like landing in horror. And then Alien as well, because Alien, just if you look at Daddy's Head, you've got this woman, long corridors, something's moving around, just some of those aspects were probably playing there. A little bit of [The] Exorcist in there — a mother watching a child. Is this child going crazy or not? So, I'd say those are the three strongest. When I look, I can see where my references are.

I did read that you were just 12 years old when your parents divorced, and while Isaac is 11 years old, he's facing another issue, like the death of his father. Daddy's Head still delves into things like the breakdown of a family and the emotional aftermath. But while directing Daddy's Head, was it ever a triggering or rather a healing experience for you?

I think it was. Yeah, it absolutely was. How I feel about this film will always be much more dear to me than anyone will ever realize because it was cathartic. It was enlightening. It was a challenge, all sorts of things. It was also me awakening into probably more [of] the type of filmmaker that I am. In that, I've had organically managed to put in my own personal emotions around something that I was also trying to make as an entertaining piece of cinema and how those two things came together and molded, and my brain had just done it naturally. It had done it by itself, and I hadn't noticed what it was actually doing. It was putting elements of myself into a film. And so, I'm not sure I'm fully answering your question. But yeah, Daddy's Head will always be like day one for me, in many ways, so many things of my own personal life and filmmaking.

So clearly, Daddy's Head's a serious project for you. But what's ironic is that the first film that you made was Double Date, which was a horror comedy that came out way back in 2017. How has the journey been since then? Transitioning from horror comedy to full-blown horror. And, so many years after your debut film, how has the experience been?

Brutal. Yeah, brutal. Been really hard, been really tough. British filmmaking is really, really tough. It's really difficult. Everything comes down to a torchbearer to a degree, which is Matt Wilkinson, who runs Stigma Films and has made both my movies, production company, and producer. It was Matt who basically saw Double Date and loved it. I reviewed Okay on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics, and I got a nationwide cinema release. I was kind of like, I've done it. And then he's like, I saw what you did there, and that was amazing. Like, I love that movie. And I want to make your next film. And he (Matt Wilkinson) basically stuck by me for three, three, four, five, six years. There were a bunch of ideas that I was doing around that weren't horror. I had one idea that was quite a political war story about this person I knew, but I ended up not doing it because it got made into an actual Hollywood movie. And so yeah, I've just been up and down. And really going into horror again was just an easy thing for Matt to be like, I could get you some money if you do a horror because you're not getting too out of your lane here, but I can move you over. You're not trying to do a period drama suddenly; I can get you into it. And then so, obviously, it becomes organic. You're like, okay, I've got to go that way.

Would you do another horror or another non-horror after Daddy's Head?

Well, I've got one that I want to do at the moment, which I'd say it's more psychological thriller cerebral drama. It's a psychological thriller/horror drama. Yeah, I have another script. And I'm not gonna get out of my lane too much on my next one because I want to get more firepower because I had to strip out a lot of the ideas I had for Daddy's Head — a lot of stuff has been removed, and I think I can make a much stronger film taking on board some of the things I was trying to do, and increase those more but with maybe a bit of American money. That's the idea.

One final question for you is that one of the most impressive performances in Daddy's Head was by Rupert Turnbull, who plays the grieving boy Isaac. How challenging was it to direct a serious movie about grief and loss with a particularly young actor like Rupert?

Well, Rupert made it incredibly easy. I mean, he really did because people have asked about him a bit now, and it's brought it all back to me. And I realized how lucky I was with him. I cast him when he was nine, and I held onto him for three years. So, luckily, I was aging the character as of the years past developing the film because I realized the older the boy got, it was like dawning on me that actually if he's a bit older, he's more threatening to the character Laura. So I held onto Rupert the whole time. But when he came to his first casting, he walked into the room, and he was almost slightly directing me a little bit. He had really strong ideas about what he wanted, but in this very calm, gentle way, he would just be like, maybe I should be stood here. You should be there. I should do this. And you could just see the boy had such a strong intellect. And then when I finally was on set with him, I'd shown him Leonardo DiCaprio scenes, I'd shown like young Leonardo DiCaprio and tried to talk to him about look at how much manifestation and energy this man, or as a young man was putting into his work. It's huge, and that's why he went on to be so successful. And so, there are scenes where you see him where he's sort of crying in front of the structure for his father. I look at him, and that is him just listening to everything I say, going away quietly, very intelligent young man, and calling upon a lot of that energy and emotional feeling inside him and just blasting it out. And I'm not having to do too much, which is the best moment for a director.

Watch Daddy's Head