'Godhead' Review: An Undeniably Bold Follow-up From Mark H. Rapaport - Fantasia 2026
- 41 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Becca Johnson - July 18, 2026
As any genre festival should be, Fantasia is often a home for the weird and wonderful; following suit from his last feature, Hippo, Mark H. Rapaport’s new film Godhead falls right under that bracket. Starring Kimball Farley (Hippo) and Sarah Coffey (Queens of the Dead) as two eccentric twins who proclaim themselves prophets, the story blurs reality and delusion as they draw a priest into their supposedly divine mission. With stark black and white cinematography, committed performances from the cast and fantastic theme exploration, Godhead is an equally thought-provoking and uncomfortable viewing experience that you can’t help but be sucked into.
If Rapaport proved anything with his debut film, Hippo, it is that he is not afraid to venture into uncomfortable, taboo territory. His sophomore feature, Godhead, only reinforces that impression. Very little feels off-limits here, and the film is unafraid to introduce its darkest ideas and follow them through to their most disturbing implications. Sexual abuse and paedophilia are among the deeply uncomfortable subjects that become woven into this twisted narrative, making for a film with an unmistakably strong voice and a daring nature. However, Godhead is not interested in provocation and shock factor alone. These themes form part of a wider exploration of the fragile boundary between reality and delusion, and of what happens when faith becomes so all-consuming that it begins to resemble madness.
Religious fanaticism, spiritual obsession and the uneasy distinction between genuine belief and religious mania are all examined through the film's strange, often fascinating back-and-forth conversations. Characters debate, contradict and attempt to impose their own versions of reality upon one another, leaving the viewer with plenty to chew on. These exchanges balance intellectual intrigue with a genuine sense of madness, using conversation as a battleground where faith, delusion and personal perception repeatedly collide.
Rapaport’s concept simply would not come to life as successfully without performances willing to commit fully to its demanding material. Ruling the roost and attempting to take control of each situation is Sarah Coffey as Firstborn, who is astonishingly unsettling in the role. She exploits her brother's naïveté and limited understanding to manipulate him, becoming increasingly terrifying in the certainty of her persuasion and delusion. Kimball Farley matches her brilliantly as Secondborn, a simple and deeply impressionable man who has been repeatedly taken advantage of. A lot less rigid in his beliefs and keen to have a life outside of his sisters domineering presence, Secondborn perhaps has the most intriguing character arc of all as he learns and grows throughout the run-time; Farley effortlessly portrays this journey. The pair work remarkably well together, creating a sibling dynamic that is somehow both alluring and deeply disturbing. Their performances require a willingness to embrace the film's strangest impulses, and both actors do so completely. Al Warren (The Drama) is equally effective as the priest, a character who becomes increasingly despicable as the runtime progresses. Together, the performances give Godhead the conviction it needs: the material may be batshit and bizarre at face value, but nobody on screen ever seems less than fully committed to it.
Rapaport's filmmaking also proves crucial to Godhead's strange, unsettling atmosphere. The church setting is used to particularly strong effect, with its stark surroundings complemented by the black-and-white cinematography he also employed in Hippo. The visual style suits the film's bleakness while reinforcing its themes, with the church itself filled with symbolic details that naturally feed into its exploration of faith, fanaticism and delusion. The score is equally effective, adding a dreamlike quality that mirrors the film's uncertain grasp on reality. At the same time, the soundscape often allows the location to breathe, with the distant whistle of wind adding to the church's eerie isolation. Due to the limited cast and minimal locations, it has an off-kilter feeling of these characters being the only ones that exist in this world, like a strange little bubble of delusion. It all contributes to a film that feels both grounded in its physical setting and increasingly untethered from reality, with the film's surreal atmosphere and strange, nightmarish plot evoking a very Lynchian tone.
Godhead is an undeniably bold and committed piece of filmmaking, with strong performances and an atmosphere that makes its strangest ideas surprisingly compelling. Due to its overt strangeness and unlikeable characters, it does a while to settle into the story it is telling, whilst offering themes that can sometimes feel difficult to connect with on a personal level. Its exploration of religion, faith and delusion can therefore leave the viewer feeling somewhat detached, but there is still plenty here to admire in Rapaport's uncompromising vision. If Hippo gave him a place on the map, Godhead solidifies it.
'Godhead' premiered at Fantasia Film Festival 2026 on July 18, 2026.
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