Having moved back to his childhood home in rural Yorkshire in the hope of helping their son’s asthma, the life of archaeology professor Richard (Matt Smith) and his wife, Juliet (Morfydd Clark), isn’t as idyllic as the couple would have hoped in Daniel Kokotajlo’s haunting folk horror.
When tragedy strikes, the pair’s relationship becomes more strained. Juliet, particularly, suffers from mental health issues, and her sister, Harrie (Gotham’s Erin Richards, attempts to intervene. Meanhwile, Richard has become obsessed with the buried roots of an oak tree cut down while he was young. A tree that has links to the occult and, particularly, the local legend of a demon, Jack Grey. When Richard finds a set of bones that ominously regenerates into its prior form, things become more horrifying, and the couple’s relationship even overwrought.
Scarve Acre is a moody, bleak picture that boasts superb performances from all involved, particularly Smith and Clark, who are spellbinding as they are consumed by grief and obsession. Kokotajlo goes full-on with the folk horror tradition of slowly allowing the dread to develop, with nature being the fiercest antagonist. The oppressive sound design of the wind-swept surroundings matches Matthew Herbert’s imposing, brooding score. Likewise, Adam Scarth’s cinematography makes the most of the bleakest surroundings.
There’s a grittiness to Kokotajlo’s film that invokes an underlying feeling of dread throughout. It wouldn’t be out of place as an extended episode of the brilliant ‘70s anthology show Beasts, shifting from melodrama to skin-crawling scares. Scare Acre holds its own within the pantheon of British folk horror and will take its place as a classic in future years.
STARVE ACRE is released In US theatres and On Demand on July 26, 2024. The UK cinema release is on September 6th.
