'Run Rabbit Run' begins with single mother Sarah stonewalling her seven year old daughter Mia, when the girl claims she's the reincarnation of a deceased person. Mia then demands to meet her grandmother, who is estranged from Sarah and resides in an institution suffering from dementia. Sarah reluctantly drives her to the rest home, and during this visit the grandmother mistakes Mia for Sarah's sister Alice, who went missing during childhood. After this unsettling encounter, Mia insists she be addressed as Alice, and the plot starts dishing up a steady diet of gloom and discord.
There are good reasons for the oppressive atmosphere, but the film forgets to make either of the two principal characters sympathetic. Sarah is portrayed as frazzled and frumpy, while Mia appears difficult and resentful - and as a result most viewers will find it hard to care when the big reveal arrives. The core idea is powerful and disturbing, but the writing and direction fail to deliver the project's full potential whether one interprets it as a psychological mystery, ghost story or horror film.
There are good reasons for the oppressive atmosphere, but the film forgets to make either of the two principal characters sympathetic. Sarah is portrayed as frazzled and frumpy, while Mia appears difficult and resentful - and as a result most viewers will find it hard to care when the big reveal arrives. The core idea is powerful and disturbing, but the writing and direction fail to deliver the project's full potential whether one interprets it as a psychological mystery, ghost story or horror film.