New horror movie Starve Acre has a creepy first look, featuring Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actor Morfydd Clark and former Doctor Who Matt Smith.
Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, the film will screen in competition at this year's London Film Festival.
In the first look, which you can see below, Clark's character looks directly into an open flame, while Smith's is seen in a large, muddy hole.
Daniel Kokotajlo’s ‘Starve Acre’ starring Morfydd Clark & Matt Smith to premiere at #LFF 2023.A supernatural folk horror exploring trauma and loss, it’s set in rural 70s England, where a couple’s idyllic life is thrown into turmoil when their son starts acting out of character. pic.twitter.com/qK4RcP3cTFAugust 29, 2023
Per its official synopsis (H/T Cornerstone Film), the film is set in the '70s in the English countryside, focusing on Richard (Smith) and Juliette (Clark). Their apparently perfect life is seriously disrupted when their son Ewan begins to act strangely.
That begins to drive the couple apart, with Richard obsessively diving into a folkloric tale that says an oak tree on their property of Starve Acre possesses great powers. Juliette, meanwhile, seeks solace in the local community.
Sinister powers, accidentally allowed into Starve Acre, then present a worrying chance of reconciliation as a surprise discovery is made.
That all sounds suitably creepy, and, judging by the first look's muted color palette, we can expect one unnerving film.
At the moment, there's no release date for The Rings of Power season 2, though it was able to wrap filming ahead of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors' strike and amid the WGA writers' strike. Clark stars as Galadriel, memorably played by Cate Blanchett in the Peter Jackson movies.
As for Smith, he's got House of the Dragon season 2 in the works, which is currently filming in the UK amid the dual strikes.
While you wait for Starve Acre, check out our guide to the best horror movies to fill out your watchlist.
