GODHEAD
HIPPO filmmaker Mark H. Rapaport brings his shocking sophomore creation to Fantasia 2026 audiences. GODHEAD follows a small-town priest with a secret. When a mysterious pair of twins dressed in white tracksuits appear in the church, they task Father with deciding which of them is the Holy Spirit.
Al Warren plays Father with an even-keeled temperament that is unnerving. Warren’s performance subconsciously splits the audience’s attention with our understanding that our priest has villainous tendencies. Right outside the walls of the church, he is holding a young boy, once abandoned on the church’s doorstep, captive with tales of an apocalyptic outside world. Matthew exists in an environment entirely curated to keep him afraid and controlled. Locked in his room after hours of bible stories, forced to listen to cassette tapes of chaotic audio playing just beneath his window. But, in truth, his flaws could not be darker.
Sarah Coffey and Kimball Farley deliver jarring physical performances, leaning into the idea that they are otherworldly. As First Born, Coffey speaks with unwavering assuredness. Each moment is powerful and intense. Coffey’s appearance from the neck up is one of a 90s raver kid, making her all the more intriguing as it visually counters the messaging. As Second Born, Farley gives a neurodivergent presenting performance that is pure and immaculate chaos. As a parent of AuDHD children, it is a meticulously accurate portrayal. Both bless us with award-worthy turns.
The original score from Austin Feinstein and Kenny Kusiak wavers between unsettling and ethereal. As with HIPPO, the film is shot in crisp black-and-white by William Tracy Babcock. The camerawork matches the unpredictability of the script, melding closeups, odd angles, and powerful framing to subvert our expectations.
If you grew up in a household that sat along the line of Christianity, you would catch the immense impact of the iconography and actions surrounding the care (or lack thereof) in handling and depicting certain objects and events. 24 minutes into the film, the audience understands the narrative gravity in GODHEAD.
As what those still in the church would call a Lapsed Catholic, or as my mother jokingly refers to my siblings and me as heathens, experiencing this story unfold had me captivated. Regardless of religious affiliation, the debates in the film will undoubtedly have audiences talking. If this film does not burrow into your brain, you aren’t paying attention.
Rapaport challenges viewers to examine the construct of good and evil; to study the effects of indoctrination and fanaticism in a world existing between truth and fiction. GODHEAD is a wild ride, and inarguably one of the most brilliantly complex films of the year.
English language, 98 minutes
Dir. Mark H. Rapaport
HIPPO
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