'The Fox' Review: A Wacky and Wonderfully Weird Dark Comedy
By Jack Ransom - October 12, 2026
Kicking off my short LFF stint with this quirky Aussie dark comedy. The Fox sees an affable foxhunter (Jai Courtney) encounter a talking Fox (Olivia Colman) who offers him an opportunity to transform his fiancée (Emily Browning) into the perfect woman.
The trailer for this scurried onto my Instagram feed a couple of months back and as soon as the charmingly puppeted titular creature announced itself with the charming tones of Olivia Colman I knew this was going to be definitely one to keep on the radar. This was a riotously foul-mouthed, surrealist gem that plays like an adult-orientated Aesop’s Fable with a layer of The Lobster, Hot Fuzz and dare I say Obsession for good measure.
Clocking in at a glorious 90 minutes (director Dario Russo mentioned the film was even shorter at one point during the after screening Q&A), the film knows exactly what gonzo tone it is aiming for and tightly tells its folky story with glee. There is a multi-genre mash-up at play here and it all works together seamlessly: from genuine horror and thriller sequences, relationship drama, slapstick-sex comedy, anthropomorphic hijinks and a prominent “Be careful what you wish for” looming narrative theme. Oh yeah, it’s also really bloody funny. Had a great crowd for this one and the laughs come thick and fast, with the highlight being a particularly bed reveal which was utterly uproarious.
In terms of the overarching plot, you do quickly work out where certain beats are going and I wish there was more time spent on the backstory of ‘the hole’, yet that admittedly would tarnish the shroud of mystique that surrounds it’s existence. The small town vibe is perfectly captured, and the palpable sense of off-kilter-ness is gleefully established when it’s swiftly made clear that certain animals (it’s made clear not dogs) can talk to humans (Sam Neil’s fresh chicken obsessed shit-stirring magpie being the highlight) and humans can talk back to them with no issue.
It’s abundantly clear just how much more suited to playing oddballs and comedic roles Jai Courtney is (see this, Dangerous Animals and both his stints as Captain Boomerang) than when Hollywood tried to make him an action lead in A Good Day to Die Hard & Terminator Genisys. He’s great here as the bumbling, booze-guzzling, farmhand-with-no-direction and burning jealous husband. Emily Browning commits her all here (I won’t go into too much detail of the performance as it’s spoilery), and has a glazed cynicism and snark to her. Claudia Doumit’s motormouthed Diana and Damon Herriman’s borderline cheesy ‘good guy’ demeanour yet cheater has some standout moments (his “fight” with Courtney is great). Lastly, the late great Sam Neill and the gem that is Olivia Colman deliver in their cooky voice roles.
The Fox is a wacky, strange, dark, eccentric and cackle inducing flick that is best experienced with a good crowd. The cast are all game, the film has a distinct look and feel to its small town shenanigans, the puppet fox is a joy and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Elements of the plot are predictable and sometimes the f-bombs become a tad numbing, but doesn’t take away from the fun.
'The Fox' screened at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival, and is set to release in UK cinemas early 2027.
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Jack Ransom
Senior Writer
Jack loves to talk films: After a regular cinema trip, he likes to review them, rank them, react to them or even adding to his physical media collection!
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