Starve Acre (2023) (Blu-ray + DVD)

Read more

Daniel Kokotajlo’s impressive follow-up to his award-winning Apostasy is a brilliant adaptation of Andrew Michael Hurley’s acclaimed novel. In 1970s Yorkshire, Richard and Juliette relocate to Richard’s childhood home, hoping the idyllic country surroundings will benefit their young son. However, a sudden tragic event drives a wedge through the family, which triggers Richard, an academic archaeologist, to bury himself in obsessively exploring a local folkloric myth. Kokotajlo’s mysterious slow-burn folk horror feels tangibly of the moist Yorkshire earth, while evoking the spellbinding nature of great supernatural and occult horror films from the 70s. It is a wildly eerie piece, tightly stitched together with genuine chills and two bold, unflinching performances from Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.