Starve Acre

When their young son dies a couple's lives are thrown into turmoil and things at their rural home start to get very weird. Some reviewers insist that this is not a horror movie but they are mistaken, Starve Acre is a British folk horror movie. Unfortunately it is not a good one. I will start with the positives - Matt Smith is a very versatile actor and again delivers a good performance. In fact the whole cast are good. I liked the 1970's period setting, the clothes, the old vehicles etc. And I thought that the rural Yorkshire location at times gave off a strong feeling of isolation and bleakness at times. What I did not like was the fact that it felt so slow. There are a couple of small jump scares and the odd feeling of dread but I am not lying when I say that I found my eyes closing numerous times when i saw this last night at my local independent cinema. The struggle to stay awake got harder and harder as it went on, if you suffer from insomnia then watching this at home may well cure you. Then there is a very fake looking hare that becomes central to the plot. I will not give away the ending but there were people laughing out loudly (which I found to be quite disrespectful) in the audience. Britain has produced some fine folk horror movies but this entry is sadly near the bottom of the barrel n terms of quality, quite disappointing.

I think this movie deserve more love. As many reviews pointed out already, it is a slow, beautiful, and well-acted movie.

I agree that the pace and lack of visual horrific elements can be problematic for many viewers. Same thing with the mood, which fluctuate between gloomy and very gloomy.

On the other hand it was almost a comforting movie on my side, and for this I think ambiance is the key. There are no shouts or noisy arguments despite the traumas of the characters. The actors quiet and brilliant acting is in tune with the soft unsettling strangeness feeling that looms over the moor.

Give it a try!

This is a movie that I only found out about through Dead Meat Presents and it had Matt Smith, so I decided to watch the movie and it was okay.

Positives for Starve Acre (2024): Matt Smith gives a good performance as the father and it's easily the best performance in the movie. The sound design in this movie is genuinely creepy and terrifying. The movie takes its time to get to the big climax and when it gets there, it pays off perfectly.

Negatives for Starve Acre (2024): I wasn't all that invested into this story, but I'm rarely invested into folk horror and I can't remember the last time I was invested into a folk horror story.

Overall, Starve Acre (2024) is a decent enough folk horror movie that will appeal more to fans of this subgenre in horror, but it's still a movie that I would still highly recommend this movie if you're a fan of House of the Dragon like me.

In my opinion a 5.3 score for this film is a very harsh score. Yes it's not a fast paced Hollywood slasher horror movie, it's a slow paced moving film. The beautiful setting in the English countryside, the century old house, the green hills, it all contributes to the weight of the story. The cast is doing an excellent job in conveying the really deep twisted message the director is trying to tell. But most of all, what really took me by surprise, was the sheer originality of the story. Fair to say by the end my jaw was on the floor, with the brutal ending and the realization of what had just happend.

Yes it was slow but for me I enjoyed the premise, Jack in the Green, Wicker Man stylee.

Atmospheric setting with good acting, I hope the Hare was not unsettled by the nipple scene !

Suspenion of disbelief was easy with the quality of the actors, Matt Smith held his poise and the countryside provided a suffocating atmosphere that caught and held me to the conclusion.

Whenever I watch a film described as horror it's difficult to discern the nature of that type of horror as there are so many different genres but for me this reminds of Hammer films, typically British in its style and delivery.

If you are enjoy atmospheric chillers I would recommend this.