First Look At Starve Acre Starring Matt Smith & Morfydd Clark

After making it’s world premiere at last year’s BFI London Film Festival, the BFI have released a first look image for Starve Acre.

The British folk horror stars Matt Smith, Morfydd Clark with Arthur Shaw playing their son. The film is directed by Daniel Kokotajlo (Apostasy) and is based on a 2019 novel of the same name from Andrew Michael Hurley. Starve Acre takes us back to the 1970’s following a couple whose idyllic rural family life is thrown into turmoil when their son acts out of character.

Kokotajlo commented on his film… “I’m a sucker for films that put a spell on you with their attitudes and strange sensibilities. English folk tales like Starve Acre give you an opportunity to do that. It’s not just horror; it ends up in a weird, off-kilter place. It can be uncomfortably quiet and sensitive, then suddenly it slaps you in your face with its oddballness. That was the aim of this film: to create a mood of nervousness. Making an audience nervous results in a whole range of reactions: tears, screams or giggles. It’s my idea of cathartic fun. Starve Acre also taps into a timeless fear that feels more relevant than ever: the idea that returning home, to nature, and regressing into childhood, is a big mistake. The film removes the nostalgic, rose-tinted glasses, and shows us that there are dark things, long-buried superstitions, awaiting our return.”

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.

Starve Acre will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on 6th September.