Matt Smith Radiates Folk Horror Vibes in ‘Starve Acre’ First Images
Starve Acre, a new horror movie based on the novel by Andrew Michael Hurley, is premiering at the BFI London Film Festival in early October, and House Productions has released two new stills from the film. Adapted and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, and starring Matt Smith (House of the Dragon, Doctor Who) and Morfydd Clark (The Rings of Power), the movie focuses on a 1970s couple in rural England who face a malevolent spirit on their land after their son starts acting strangely.
The first image shows Matt Smith looking out of a trench in the ground, with a house visible in the background.
In the novel, Smith’s character Richard throws himself into searching for an old oak tree that he believes has been buried somewhere in a strange patch of barren land on his property. This image likely shows Richard during one of his excavations, spotting something creepy in the woods beyond the house. What Richard doesn’t know is that if someone took the time to bury an entire tree, and nothing will grow on the land where it’s buried, then that tree is better off left alone.
I’d like to offer a quick shout out not just to Smith himself, but also that fantastic cable knit sweater he’s wearing. Nothing says folk horror like cable knit!
The second image is Richard’s wife Juliette (Clark) staring into a tall flame in her living room. Juliette looks haggard, with dark circles under her eyes.
In the book, Juliette invites a group of occultists to her house after things take a turn for the worst with her son. This still may be from that scene, in which Juliette seems to get some relief form the turmoil she’s going through, but soon starts behaving strangely herself.
The novel Starve Acre is a modern classic of folk horror: it’s a moody, atmospheric slow-burn, with some wonderfully unsettling occurrences. Judging from these first images, the film adaptation just might do the book justice.
(featured image: Leon Bennett/FilmMagic, Getty Images)
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