Starve Acre (2024)

British folk-horror is a well worn genre by now, and more than likely Robin Hardy's The Wicker Man (1973) or perhaps Michael Reeves' Witchfinder General (1968) might be titles that spring to mind when you consider the genre's finest. Daniel Kokotajlo's new offering to British folk horror comes courtesy of Andrew Hurley's 2019 novel, and proves a worthy entry into the annals of folk horror.

With horror, as ever, I struggle to find much to get excited about in terms of jump-scare thrills; finding creepy, slow burning atmospheric pieces much more effective, meaning that folk horror generally proves fruitful. Starve Acre succeeds largely because of the performances of its two leads; Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark especially are terrific as parents in the vein of Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973) who experience tragedy with their young son, and slowly descend into obsession as a way of distraction. Smith's Richard is an archaeologist, who has moved his family from the city into the rural countryside where he grew up; Clark's Juliette has agreed with her thinking being the country air might be good for their son, who begins to hear someone speaking to him shortly before his tragic end.

This is no spoiler- it happens early in the film, and as Starve Acre at points descends into silliness, we slowly realise that the chills that are unquestionably present are as a result of- rather than in spite of- the silliness. Richard discovers the bare bones of a hare in a box that used to belong to his Dad, and begins to nurse the creature back to life- a sub plot that brings to mind 2022's excellent Hatching.

It's also impossible to ignore the influence of Ben Wheatley's film making on display. Although Kill List (2011) is undeniably a touch-point, Starve Acre reminded me more of A Field in England (2013) and unsurprisingly Wheatley's more recent folk horror, In The Earth (2021), which shares many similarities with Starve Acre's reliance on the earth and soil itself being a key character in the unfolding drama.

Although there are things in Kokotajlo's film that don't work, there's enough of a sense of dread coursing through Starve Acre to ensure it's worth your time. Contrary to what I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this review, there is one very effective jump scare in the film's first half along with a few shots in particular that make Starve Acre stand out somewhat from the usual standard nonsense that we often have to put up with at this time of year. 7.0/10