Fae Warning: There’s a Whole Lotta Weird Happening to Dev Patel in the Woods in ‘Rabbit Trap’
It should go without saying that you shouldn’t step in the Fairy Circle.
But in Rabbit Trap, Darcy (Dev Patel) and Daphne (Rosy McEwen) don’t heed that advice when they explore the woods around their cottage. Predictably, things get weird.
It’s tough to describe what exactly is going on in the trailer, released Thursday by Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing, but the movie’s synopsis tries to explain.
“Seeking new inspiration and a fresh start, married musicians Daphne and Darcy move to the Welsh countryside to finish their new record. While collecting audio samples, Darcy inadvertently creates a field recording of mysterious sound never before heard by human ears. The discovery renews Daphne’s creative energy, but as the echoes of her music bleed into the surrounding landscape, ancient and malevolent woodland forces are disturbed. One day, a stranger (Jade Croot) arrives on their doorstep. The couple initially embrace the stranger, who helps them navigate and understand their new environment, but…as jealousy and paranoia infect the makeshift family, the line between reality and myth begins to blur.”

The trailer shows fast cuts between a lot of evocative images, giving us glimpses of the peculiar goings-on that follow the entrance of the stranger into the couple’s lives, including a massive fire, what looks like a bloody sink, caves, bedroom scenes, bathtub scenes, and the rabbit trap of the title springing shut on something. The movie is set in 1976, long before anyone could hope to rustle up help with their cell phones.
Rabbit Trap is director Bryn Chainey’s feature film debut. Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah are producers. The movie, which is reminiscent of 1970s British Folk Horror like The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan’s Claw, opens in theaters on September 12th.


