By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The period fright film will be coming to theaters in the near future.
Cornerstone has announced that its horror feature STARVE ACRE has been acquired for North American distribution by Brainstorm Media, with a release date to be announced. BFI Distribution grabbed UK and Ireland rights to the movie, which had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo from the book by Andrew Michael Hurley, it stars Matt Smith (LAST NIGHT IN SOHO) and Morfydd Clark (pictured, from SAINT MAUD). The synopsis: “1970s, rural England. Richard [Smith] and Juliette’s [Clark] seemingly idyllic family life is thrown into turmoil when their son starts acting out of character. At Starve Acre, their remote family home, archaeologist Richard buries himself in exploring a folkloric myth that the ancient oak tree on their land is imbued with phenomenal powers. While Juliette turns to the local community to find some kind of peace, Richard obsessively digs deeper. An unexpected discovery soon occupies the couple’s attention and dark and sinister forces, unwittingly allowed into the home, offer a disturbing possibility of reconnection between them.”
“We are very excited to bring this stellar addition to the folk horror canon to American audiences,” says Brainstorm CEO Michelle Shwarzstein. “STARVE ACRE is masterfully made and unsettling in all the best ways.” Adds BFI Distribution’s Laura Dos Santos, “A magnificent tribute to the British folk horror tradition which has always been in BFI Distribution’s DNA, STARVE ACRE is also a wonderfully original film. It will enthrall a wide range of tastes in the UK and in Ireland–genre fans, cinephiles and beyond.”
