Naman Shrestha
Written and directed by Bryn Chainey, ‘Rabbit Trap’ stars Dev Patel as Darcy and Rosy McEwen as Daphne Davenport — two married musicians who move from London, England, to an isolated cabin in the Welsh countryside for a fresh start and find the much-needed inspiration to complete their brand new album. While Daphne is an experimental electronic musician, her husband, Darcy, is her collaborator. Surrounded by tranquility and nature in the cottage, the couple also hopes to heal from the traumatic experiences they share after numerous failed attempts to bring a child of their own into the world.
While working on their musical project with tape decks, analog synthesizers, and theremins, Darcy ends up recording a uniquely mysterious sound that has never been heard before. Things get out of hand when their music disturbs a Tylwyth Teg fairy ring, after which they are visited by a nameless kid who seems to have sinister intentions. Soon, the couple’s lives turn upside down as they begin to lose their grip on reality. Set in the 1970s, the psychological horror movie unfolds in rural Wales, with the cabin and its wooded surroundings serving as additional characters.
Rabbit Trap Filming Locations
Although ‘Rabbit Trap’ is set in Wales, the shooting took place in England, specifically in North Yorkshire and the surrounding areas. According to reports, principal photography for the Dev Patel-starrer commenced in June 2023 and concluded by late July of the same year. In an interview with Variety, director Bryn Chainey revealed that filming couldn’t take place in Wales. He explained, “Daphne’s character was always meant to be a chain smoker — that was important for me. Something about the vapor and smoke… and people were chain smokers back then. People with anxiety need to smoke! But there’s a rule in Wales where you’re not allowed to even have fake cigarettes on a film set. So we were told either we cut the smoking or use CGI smoke. And that’s really difficult for a low-budget movie. We begged for an exclusion.”
Yorkshire, England
All the pivotal sequences for ‘Rabbit Trap’ were lensed across Yorkshire, a historic county situated in Northern England. In particular, the production team reportedly set up camp at a lot in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. Besides that, they also shot “in a lot of locations where nobody had shot before,” revealed the director in the same Variety interview. They also made the most of the Yorkshire Dales, which served as the backdrop for multiple key portions. During a conversation with Sundance, Chainey was asked about the challenges he faced while bringing the horror film to life. “We shot the entire film in 20 days, on 35mm film, in remote locations in Yorkshire, under an almost constant torrential downpour,” he revealed.
Giving credit to the rest of his team, he added, “The only way this was possible was because our crew was truly dedicated and had an exceptional spirit: the amount of enthusiasm, community, joy, focus, humour, and creativity on display was rare and awe-inspiring.” As for the fairy circle of mushrooms seen in the film, they were created by the production designer, Lucie Red. Chainey stated, “She designed those and had them printed — they had to withstand the elements a bit. They were all hand-painted afterwards. And they were all given out to the cast and crew as presents after the film – they are not mushrooms floating around the world.”
The countryside element of North Yorkshire worked in favor of the makers, as it stood in for the Welsh countryside almost flawlessly. Apart from ‘Rabbit Trap,’ the area has served as a production location for many movies and TV shows over the years. Some of the notable ones include ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles,’ ‘A Is for Acid,’ ‘Ghost Stories,’ ‘Murderous Intent,’ ‘Book of Monsters,’ ‘At the Mountains of Madness,’ ‘The Innocents,’ and ‘Better.’
