Critics are loving Starve Acre, the upcoming folk horror starring Doctor Who's Matt Smith and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's Morfydd Clark. So much so, in fact, that the movie has earned a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Written and directed by David Kokotajlo, who adapted the tale from Andrew Michael Hurley's novel, the flick centers on Richard and Juliette, a young couple whose lives start to unravel after they ditch their city lives and move into the former's titular childhood home.
Unbeknownst to his wife, Richard's memories of Starve Acre are not happy ones, and it soon becomes clear that he's haunted by the constant reminders of his abusive father. But it's not until the family experience a terrible tragedy that things really take a turn...
Variety's Guy Lodge describes it as "formidably freaky" in his review, while SciFiNow's Katherine McLaughlin says it's "chilling and atmospheric".
"Starve Acre is a satisfying addition to the growing crop of English folk horror narratives that venture past the edges of magic realism, entering into a wild realm that lies just beyond our waking vision," writes Art Fuse's Peg Aloi.
"This 1970s-set folk horror, unnervingly scored by Matthew Herbert, unearths something primeval and toxic at the very roots of a once, and perhaps again, happy family," says Sight & Sound's Anton Bitel.
"Smith and Clark, at the head of a very capable supporting cast, keep the movie on an even dramatic keel, with intelligent, thought-through performances putting life back into some familiar tropes," explains The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw.
Elsewhere, Screen International's Jonathan Romney gushes: "Perfectionist direction and subtly unsettling mood give a bespoke edge to what would otherwise come perilously close to being a Gothic shaggy dog story (although a dog is not the beast at issue here)."
Starve Acre was yet to pin down an official release date, but we'll be sure to keep you posted. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time for some viewing inspiration this spooky season.
