Making its world premiere at the upcoming BFI London Film Festival is Starve Acre, a new supernatural folk horror starring Matt Smith (Doctor Who, Last Night in Soho, Morbius) and Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), with the BFI today releasing two first-look images.
BAFTA-nominated writer-director Daniel Kokotajlo will adapt the tale from the 2019 novel of the same name by author Andrew Michael Hurley. The rural horror follows Richard and Juliette, a couple whose seemingly idyllic rural family life is in 1970s England thrown into turmoil when their son Ewan starts acting out of character. The full plot synopsis reads as follows:
At Starve Acre, their remote family home, archaeologist Richard buries himself in exploring a folkloric myth that the ancient oak tree on their land is imbued with phenomenal powers, while Juliette turns to the local community to find some kind of peace.
Moody British folk horror? A mysterious ancient tree? Creepy kids? We’re so sold. If the eerie tone of these images is anything to go by, fans of bleak and atmospheric horror are surely in for a treat. The first-look pictures show a shocked Smith (above) and a pretty traumatized looking Clark (below). Neither of the pair are newbies to the horror genre, so we’re sure whatever they’re looking at will be suitably terrifying.
BFI London Film Festival will run from October 4 to 15. If you’re lucky enough to be in the London area during that time, you can visit the official BFI LFF website for more information, and we’ll bring you more on Starve Acre as and when we get it.
