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2019

international competition

Come to Daddy

Timpson Ant

New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, United States, 2019, 94', European Premiere

The movie

A hip DJ accepts to visit his father who lives in a villa by the ocean. The reunion will turn sour sooner than expected... Trust us, you’ll be thinking your family dinners aren’t that bad after all!

Abandoned by his father as a child, Norval is now a thirty-something hipster who feels underappreciated. Wishing to find value in the eyes of his father, he decides to meet up with him, hoping to impress him with his accomplishments as a DJ. Unfortunately, the old man still doesn’t have an ounce of fatherhood in his body. Soon, the reunion takes an unexpected turn when Norval finds himself not only fighting for his pride, but for his life.

Come to Daddy is a claustrophobic thriller set in an isolated house on the Pacific Coast, which continuously defies expectations by mixing horror and black humour in this father-son confrontation. With a sense of humour that’s both cruel and engaging, the film invokes a continually tangible feeling of uneasiness and tension, and frequently surprises the audience. This portray of family ties, propelled by an amazingly eccentric Elijah Wood, is as cringy as it is bloody.


Director

Born in 1966, Ant Timpson funded the 48Hours film challenge in 2003, a short film festival that helped several New Zealand filmmakers to get their first works shown. He then produced the best genre fare in his country, including gems such as Housebound (winner of the NIFFF 2014), Turbo KidDeathgasmThe Greasy Strangler, as well as the anthology films ABCs of Death et The Field Guide to Evil. With Come to Daddy, Ant Timpson takes the director’s seat and strengthens his position as defender of an unbridled, absurdist genre cinema.

Award :

Youth Award

World Sales :

Wtfilms

cast :

Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Garfield Wilson, Madeleine Sami, Martin Donovan, Michael Smiley, Simon Chin, Ona Grauer, Ryan Beil

Crew :
  • Music : Karl Steven
  • Cinematographer : Daniel Katz
  • Editor : Dan Kircher