Come to Daddy review: Elijah Wood and Ant Timpson open this year’s Arrow Video Frightfest with a bang with this eccentric and violent father and son story.
Signature Entertainment
Elijah Wood has been acting since he about eight years old. His first film credit was as ‘video game boy‘ in Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future Part II. He then went on to star in a plethora of family favourites such as Flipper, before moving into the teen arena with The Faculty. After that, he starred as Frodo Baggins in that small film series The Lord of the Rings. All of these roles conspired to give Wood this almost squeaky clean persona. This made his turn as silent cannibal serial killer Kevin in 2005’s Sin City all the more chilling. He followed this up playing a deranged man with a loose grasp on reality in Maniac, planting himself firmly in the hearts of genre audiences. Now he returns, in a slightly less psychotic role, in Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy.
In Come to Daddy, Wood plays Norval, a pampered mama’s boy who lives in Beverly Hills; he has all the latest designer clothes and electronics. What Norval hasn’t had, however, is a father, the man having left the family home when Norval was still very little. He’s eager therefore when out of the blue he receives a letter from his estranged dad inviting him to visit. Upon arrival at Daddy dearest’s isolated waterside abode, it soon becomes apparent that it’s going to be one awkward visit. Then something happens that has huge ramifications, and what follows is pure insane carnage.
I can’t really share much more plot details than that without completely spoiling the surprises that Come to Daddy has to offer. What I will say is this is a film with a very eccentric sense of humour. It’s one of those films that leaves you bewildered at times, in a ‘did they really just say that?’ way. In many ways, the humour is a blend of Swiss Army Man and television series Wilfred (which also stars Wood). You never quite know where the laugh is going to come from, but you’ll have a fun time nonetheless.
Signature Entertainment
Come to Daddy begins at a rather sedentary pace, director Ant Timpson taking his time to build the relationship between father and son. It takes a long while for the pleasantries to be dispatched with, but rest assured, once they are dispensed with, the film rattles along at a breakneck pace. After holding back for so long, Timpson suddenly unleashes his whole arsenal, seemingly all at once, onto the unsuspecting audience. Expect to see new uses for weights, cling film, the trusty kitchen knife, and the mighty pen. Trust us, even John Wick wouldn’t go where this pen does.
Backing up the intricate plot and crazy antics are some pretty special visuals. There are several moments where the film is shot in silhouette, especially towards the opening moments, that are simply breathtaking. The house too is a wonder of architecture and you have to wonder how long it took the team to stumble across this beauty.
Signature Entertainment
At the heart of the film is, of course, Wood’s Noval. He’s a tricky character to pin down. On the surface, Norval is a spoilt rich kid who fully embraces all things hipster – that hairstyle and moustache are particularly brave. But underneath all those layers of cocoon-like materials, is simply a young man desperate for his father’s love and approval. Norval’s journey from meek to mighty has parallels to Wood’s earlier Faculty character Casey, though Norval is definitely on a completely different trajectory. With Come to Daddy fully embracing both its twisted humour and violent horror elements, Wood merges what he has learnt working in both genres, and in doing so creates one of the standout characters of his career.
Come to Daddy has the honour of opening 20th annual Arrow Video Frightfest and in doing so will delight audiences and set a high bar for the films that follow. Eccentric, engaging and brutally unapologetic in its violence, Come to Daddy will have you coming back again and again.
Come to Daddy was reviewed at Arrow Video Frightfest 2019. It is released on home entertainment platforms via Signature Entertainment early next year.
