Title – Rabbit Trap (2025)

Director – Bryn Chainey (feature debut)

Cast – Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot

Plot – Having moved to a remote house in Wales, married musicians Darcey (Patel) and Daphne (McEwen) unknowingly uncover a mysterious sound that begins to warp their minds and reality.  

“Noise is the oldest of gods”

Review by Eddie on 16/02/2026

Ironic considering it’s a “horror” film about noise, Bryn Chainey’s feature debut is all sound and all fury signifying nothing as this initially intriguing but quickly annoying indie film falters and splutters on its way to providing a cold and frustrating experience.

Based in the 70’s and centred around Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen’s married musicians Darcey and Daphne, who have forgone the flashing lights of London to base themselves on a remote rural property in quiet old Wales, Rabbit Trap has an in principle interesting premise, based on Darcey and Daphne unearthing a sound that will change their very state of being, but Chainey in unable to come to terms with his idea in a meaningful way.

There’s metaphors and undertones galore here and I’m sure there’s interpretations of Trap to be manifested from a small collation of viewers that may connect with their version of this tale on a deep and personal level but for the most part the large portion of viewers who invest there time into this little known feature will be left cold and bemused by a film that spends a majority of its mercifully brief runtime confusing and confounding.

Talented performers, with Patel a known entity and The Alienist’s McEwen a rising star, it’s a shame Chainey wasn’t able to match the levels of his two leads who have proven themselves over recent and less recent times, with the two leads joined by Jade Croot as the mysterious The Child and while the visual presentation of Trap is also impressive thanks to D.O.P Andreas Johannessen, enhanced by a moody score from composer Lucrecia Dalt, you just can’t help but escape the feeling Trap is nothing but an empty vessel.

A film that wants to be mysterious by choice and design and one that may in fact actually at its core be about very little, there’s no scares here, no emotional connectivity and bluntly nothing to get excited about making this a genuine what could have been? On end result becoming nothing more than a hard pass.

Final Say –

There’s unarguable signs of a very unique and engaging folk horror/mystery found within Rabbit Trap but these signs are overruled by an end product that fails to stick any of its concepts or ideas on landing, making Bryn Chainey’s debut a film to forget, something that is the likely outcome for most that partake in a viewing.

1 fungi infestation out of 5