Something is happening in the Land Down Under. I don’t know what it is, but someone took a risk when they agreed to make The Fox, and I’m sure glad they did because this Australian film is an unexpected hit.

The film sees an affable fox hunter named Nick (Jai Courtney) discover that his fiancée Kori (Emily Browning) is cheating on him. He wants nothing more than to fix the problem, so when he encounters a talking fox (Olivia Colman) who offers to transform his fiancée into the perfect partner—on the condition he lets the fox live—Nick agrees to follow her advice. This leads to him pushing Kori into a magic hole, and when she re-emerges, she’s seemingly everything he ever wanted. That is, until he notices her strange behaviour and starts questioning his decision.

I didn’t know anything about this film going in, except that Colman was playing a talking fox. That alone sold me on watching the film, if I’m being honest. Having said that, when her character first popped up on screen as an animatronic puppet, I was pleasantly surprised. The use of puppetry throughout (not with dogs, though, as the film makes it very clear they cannot talk to humans) is refreshing in this day and age, plus the puppets are gorgeously crafted and add to the overall whimsy and charm of the film.

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Alongside Colman, the late, great Sam Neill also appears as a nosy, foul-mouthed animatronic magpie. He delivers an excellent performance that had not just me, but several audience members in my screening at the BFI London Film Festival laughing out loud. I genuinely think The Fox has some of the best dark humour and one-liners I’ve witnessed at the cinema this year. It also gets quite raunchy at times, which is a great deal of fun.

I also like how the film draws from several different genres, perfectly blending black comedy with satire and elements of fantasy and folk horror. I’d say it’s reminiscent of Curry Barker‘s sleeper hit Obsession, especially with the “be careful what you wish for” narrative, but what writer-director Dario Russo has created is still a distinctive film in its own right. Russo also edited and scored the film, which is even more impressive when you find out it’s his feature debut.

Although I do think the plot of The Fox can be somewhat predictable, and there are some aspects I wish had been explained a bit more, the mystery ends up working just fine and ultimately doesn’t take away from the film’s overall enjoyability. I honestly don’t feel like too much reading needs to be done into this. It is what it is—which is simply a darkly comedic, surreal, and very Australian film.

★★★★

Played at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival / Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Olivia Colman, Sam Neill, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit / Dir. Dario Russo / Signature Entertainment / 18

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Emily Ries

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