Doctor Who and Rings of Power stars' new horror with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score finally gets release date

Upcoming highly-rated horror movie Starve Acre has confirmed its release date with a creepy new photo. The film, which stars Doctor Who star Matt Smith and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actor Morfydd Clark will be released later this year.

In the UK, it’s distributed by the BFI and will arrive in UK and Irish cinemas on September 6. Meanwhile, in the US, the creepy folk horror is being released by Brain Media and will be out in theaters earlier in the summer on July 26.

Based on the book by Andrew Michael Hurley, the film stars Smith and Clark as married couple Richard and Juliette, who are living a seemingly idyllic life in rural Yorkshire. However, when their son Ewan starts acting out of character, a deep trauma rips their relationship apart. Things get increasingly strange when Richard becomes obsessed with an ancient oak tree on his land, which is tied to mythical folklore.

The horror film directed by Apostasy’s Daniel Kokotajlo first premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2023 and landed some very positive early reactions. Based on seven reviews, it’s currently ranked at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the initial responses praising its acting, atmosphere, and writing.

Variety’s Guy Lodge writes: "Daniel Kokotajlo‘s impressive second feature unfolds in a vein of British folk horror that has been popular of late – with films from Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England to Mark Jenkins’s Enys Men all tapping into that retro Wicker Man eeriness – but rarely with such rattling sensory specificity or formal refinement."

The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gives it three stars, writing: "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."

Jonathan Romney of Screen International adds: "Starve Acre is woven from fantasy of a very dark strain, yet it has the great virtue of capturing a certain poetic drabness that is inseparably bound with our cinematic memories of ’70s Britain."

For more upcoming horror movies, check out our guide to all of the 2024 movie release dates we know about.