Everything is moderately creepy in Daina Reid’s new horror film Run Rabbit Run. A gust of wind blows near Sarah’s (Sarah Snook) contemporary Australian home, etc, the start of a slow buildup. that buildup involves Sarah’s daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre). She can’t shield Mia from violence, even if yes, that violence manifests at home through horseplay with her stepbrother. But what if that violence comes from Mia, and tangentially involves a secret she’s hiding from her mother Joan (Greta Scacchi)?

Run Rabbit Run starts out as an engaging film, but let’s find out if it stays that way. Part of what makes it engaging is Sarah as a character, someone who doesn’t involve herself in her family affairs for reasons she doesn’t discuss. She reminds me of this adage of people doing x instead of doing therapy, even if in this case x is just being evasive. Her demeanour shocks Sandy (Trevor Jamieson), the healthcare worker caring for Joan in a senior home.

As Sarah, Snook gives a generous performance, sometimes letting her co-star outscream her. Just like in many films I either like or forgive, this one is at its best when it coomes to its quieter moments. Sarah sometimes tells Mia about Alice, her missing sister, and sometimes Mia listens. Mia, for the most part, is going through a phase where she believes she is Alice. Does Mia know that she’s upseeing Sarah or does she not care? It’s also nice to see Scacchi in a film again, even if she’s unrecognizable.

Australian film is still pretty outback-y. However,uRun Rabbit Run is maybe one of two recent films from that country that juxtaposes that place within the country’s psyche with hypermodernity. Sarah is a single mother who can afford that modern looking house. And even if she keeps her mother at a distance, she keeps her childhood home in the exurbs. Thing is, it doesn’t say anything more about that. Instead, it returns to Sarah freaking out about how creepy Mia is getting.

It’s disappointing to see Run Rabbit Run go the simple route. There are moments where something happens to Sarah physically that almost turns me off from the film. The reveal is also predictable, and it’s strange to see that the film go longer than it should. Yes, the film doesn’t live to its potential, but there’s something about it that tells me not to dismiss it. The pieces are all there, and sometimes it’s good to appreciate the jumpoff points that a film uses.

Watch Run Rabbit Run on Netflix.