Gremlins, Critters, Munchies, Ghoulies, there’s been more than a few “tiny scary monster” movies in the past few decades, all of them with varying degrees of quality. While Gremlins and arguably Critters stand out as some of the better films in this weirdly-specific subgenre of horror, it’s not exactly one that’s looked upon fondly. Most will understandably dismiss anything that’s not Gremlins as something trying to simply ape the success of it, and for good reason — they usually are. However, the upcoming British horror film Unwelcome aims to take a unique approach to this idea, utilizing a menacing creature that’s featured in Irish folklore: the bloodthirsty Redcap.

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Directed by Jon Wright, whose previous works include the British films Grabbers and Robot Overlords, it looks to be an interesting take on the home-invasion genre crossed with fantastical creatures. In an interview with Empire, Wright described the film as “Gremlins meets Straw Dogs,” alluding to historical tensions that arise between the leading English couple and the Irish countryside they move into.

This is everything we know about Unwelcome.

Unwelcome: The Plot

The official plot synopsis for Unwelcome provided by Warner Bros. is as follows.

We have an interesting setup in defiance of what a typical home-invasion film looks like: instead of a settled home being invaded by a foreign presence, we have the opposite scenario of an urban couple settling into the unperturbed countryside. Aside from the obvious cultural connections that this setup offers, we also have the utilization of a traditional Irish folklore monster in lieu of generic fantasy creatures.

“UNWELCOME stars Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth as a couple who escape their urban nightmare to the tranquility of rural Ireland only to discover malevolent, murderous goblins lurking in the gnarled, ancient wood at the foot of their new garden.”

The Irish Redcap, in essence, is a murderous goblin-like creature with a propensity toward violence and malevolence. The titular “red cap” the creature wears is dyed red from being soaked in the blood of its victims. The rest of their bodies are clad in cotton shawls, sometimes wearing heavy wrought-iron boots and typically carrying medieval-styled weaponry, from small daggers all the way up to heavy pikes. While the creature’s background varies depending on the region, we can expect them to act with a similar sense of sadism to the ever-popular Gremlins.

The film’s trailer looks to highlight both the Redcaps as a legitimate threat alongside the Irish locals. Moreover, it looks as though the Redcaps attacking the townsfolk stems less from purposeful neglect in “feeding” them blood offerings, but from pressure placed upon the couple by the town’s inhabitants. What’s especially strange, though, is that since the couple receive their new home through the death of a family member, why was the responsibility of feeding the Redcaps seemingly omitted? We get glimpses of the Redcaps attacking people other than the couple, so you’d think it’d be in their best interest to inform any new residents of the procedure. Regardless, it’ll likely be explained in the full film.

Unwelcome: The Cast & Crew

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Douglas Booth and Hannah John-Kamen will be playing the lead roles of Maya and Jamie, the English couple forced to combat the warring Redcaps. Booth has had a prolific filmography prior to Unwanted, having a leading role in Netflix’s The Dirt while also appearing in films like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Noah, and the 2013 theatrical version of Romeo & Juliet. John-Kamen, meanwhile, was in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Ready Player One, 2018’s Tomb Raider, and Netflix’s short-lived The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Interestingly, both Booth and John-Kamen had roles in films about the biblical Noah’s Ark.

Additional cast members include Colm Meany (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Kristian Narin (Game of Thrones), Chris Walley (1917), Rick Warden (Band of Brothers), Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Derry Girls), and Lalor Roddy (Grabbers).

The film will feature practical effects from the same team that worked on Jon Wright’s previous film, Grabbers. Seeing as how praise was showered upon Grabbers for its effects, even being nominated for a respective award from Fangoria, it’ll be exciting to see the Redcaps come to life and tear up the place. As for the film’s screenplay, it comes from a previous collaborator of Jon Wright’s, Mark Stay, who also wrote Robot Overlords.

Release Date

Bloody Disgusting reported that Unwelcome will be released in theaters on March 10. A VOD release will follow four days later on March 14. If you live in the United Kingdom or Ireland, you’ll be able to watch Unwelcome in theaters as soon as January 27.

Everything Else We Know

Unwelcome has been subject to numerous release delays, as the film was originally slated to be released in February 2022. It was then pushed to October before settling on its current release date. Let’s hope that it’s because of circumstances unrelated to the film itself.

Unwelcome is also not the original title of the film. When John-Kamen and Booth were announced as part of the film’s cast, it was under the title Little People. It’s safe to assume most would prefer the new title, as it hints at what the film is actually about while keeping its monstrous creatures more securely under wraps.