Starve Acre will be released in UK & Irish cinemas on 6 September 2024 from BFI Film Distribution.
Synopsis
1970s, rural Yorkshire. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s seemingly idyllic family life is thrown into turmoil when their young son Owen starts acting out of character. A sudden, tragic event brings grief and drives a wedge between the once happy couple. At Starve Acre, their remote family home, academic archaeologist Richard buries himself in exploring a folkloric myth that the ancient oak tree that once stood on their land is imbued with phenomenal powers. While Juliette turns to the local community to find some kind of peace, Richard obsessively digs deeper. An unexpected discovery soon occupies the couple’s attention and dark and sinister forces, unwittingly allowed into their home, offer a disturbing possibility of reconnection between them.
Review
Horror comes in all shapes and sized. Of any type of cinema, horror is one area which has countless sub-genres which inspire their own legion of fans. One area which has become increasingly popular in recent years is folk horror. A more sophisticated, emotionally intelligent type of storytelling which taps in to historical folklore, exploiting it in inventive, often gothic ways to challenge audiences.
Coming to cinemas this week and based on the book by Andrew Michael Hurly, Starve Acre is a typically atmospheric and gothic affair. Writer/director Daniel Kokotajlo adheres to the rules of the genre, keeping the audience on their toes as this macabre tale unfolds across it’s 98 minute runtime.
Richard (Matt Smith, Doctor Who) and Juliette (Morfydd Clark, Rings of Power) have escaped city life. They’ve moved to Richard’s idyllic, rural Yorkshire family home along with their young son Owen (Arthur Shaw). The problems begin when Owen’s behaviour takes a sinister and typically horror turn. It’s a major cause for concern for the family. But when the situation takes an even more devastating turn, Richard and Juliette are thrust in to a darker, more sinister turn of events.
Starve Acre is a film powered by grief. Whilst the local legend of Jack Grey underpins the events early in the film. It’s the intense feelings of loss and guilt which drive the narrative forwards. Kokotajlo uses the sparse Yorkshire landscape to play in to Richard and Juliette’s feelings of isolation. In fact the two rarely share the screen together save for key touch points in each act of the story. Richard, an archeologist, spends increasing time in the sprawling grounds of the farm digging up the roots of an old tree related to the Jack Grey legend. Whilst Juliette is symbolically trapped in the house, trapped with her guilt.
The two are joined at the house by Harrie (Erin Richards, Gotham), Juliette’s sister. Richards rounds out an impressive cast. Smith and Clark show enough chemistry for their shared scenes to portray a couple whose marriage is fraying at the edges. Whilst in solo scenes their strength as individual performers shines through. Richards provides as much support to the audience as she does her on-screen sister. Her confusion as the darkness which grips the house mirrors our own with her arc narratively reflecting the audiences own experience of the film.
As is customary with folk horror, a sub-genre which rangers from riffing on real myth to creating those of its own, Starve Acre does little to full explain its premise. Kokotajlo commits fully to the atmosphere of the film. Cinematographer Adam Scarth feels instinctively attuned to the rolling Yorkshire hillside. Lingering shots of the stunning views make the film feel intrinsically British. While the interiors of the house, the university where Richard works and the local hospital all feel authentic to the 1970s setting. There’s an incredibly spare soundscape to Starve Acre. One which focuses more on the physical sounds than the musical. When it requires it, Matthew Herbert steps in with a creepy score which compliments the film’s tone precisely.
There is an inherent problem with folk horror. A trap which I had hoped Kokotajlo might have avoided with Starve Acre. It’s the tendency to not sufficient context to the events contained within. Folk horror can work better when based on popular myths and legends. Well established stories can remove the need for a film’s narrative to explain too deeply what is going on. But as Starve Acre is working on something original it needs to spend at least a little time explaining itself. The issue is that it doesn’t. Not sufficiently. I came away wondering what the real motivation was behind it all. There are hints, neighbours Gordon (Sean Gilder, Slow Horses) and his wife are our biggest clues. But their exposition is still steeped in mystery and there’s resolution to suggest their goals – whatever they were – are met.
Verdict
Ultimately Starve Acre is an atmospheric and macabre affair which is likely to have Brit horror fans foaming at the mouth. It crackles and fizzes as the slow burn descent in to madness takes hold and there’s no denying the star power of Smith and Clark. What it lacks in deeper meaning it makes up for undeniably enthralling style.
⭐⭐⭐.5
