William Brent Bell’s latest action horror, “Lord of Misrule,” focuses on the cult custom in Scotland where farmers used to celebrate their harvest for the upcoming season during Christmas. This celebration, which occurred much earlier in time, mostly included wild partying and endless drinking of alcohol. However, William Brent Bell derived the old folklore surrounding this custom and turned it into a fantasy horror, including much deeper characters that resonate well within the story. This film, however, fails to bring anything new to the genre, nor does it shine as a particularly good horror film. However, it is definitely worth a one-time watch because of the transitions they use at certain places and the overall performance.
Spoilers Ahead
Lord of Misrule (2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
The film starts with chapter one, which is named ‘The Gift of Hair.’ We see Rebecca Holland, a newly appointed vicar in a small town, baptizing a child. Meanwhile, Grace, Rebecca’s daughter, back in her house, tears her own hair and binds it like a gift wrapper band. Later, she grabs the pet rabbit in the house and holds a scissor close to its neck. From afar, three masked people watch over her actions, and it seems like Grace communicates with them without uttering a single word.
Later, when Rebecca comes back to her house, she sees that Henry, her husband, is cleaning Grace’s wounds, which were caused by their rabbit. Rebecca blames Henry for not taking good care of their daughter, while Henry complains that he needs to focus on his work so that he can bring new things into the family. Grace requires time to settle in as they have moved recently from their previous home. However, Rebecca says that it has already been months, and when Grace overhears this, she leaves.
How does Rebecca lose Grace?
Grace is selected as the Harvest angel, and she heads toward the festival. Rebecca looks worried about something, as this is perhaps her first participation in this custom. Rebecca tries to find Grace on the ground. She sees that a couple of girls are rotating around Grace as if she is being prepared for something. Rebecca doesn’t know even now that Grace has secretly been following the rituals as she has already offered her hair as a gift to Gallowgog. She has been learning all of this from somewhere, and the origin is unknown. Anyway, the villagers gather in one place for some kind of performance that is about to take place.
We see Jocelyn Abney, who is preparing himself for the feast of the fools, one of the customs that the farmers in the village follow. Before the festival, Jocelyn takes on the makeup of the lord of misrule and prays to the devil with ominous hand gestures. When he enters the stage where the villagers are surrounded, he addresses ‘Gallowgog,’ the harvest blight, and encourages the crowd to sing the name with him. He performs in a way of showing Gallowgog that no one is afraid of facing the devil and he, lord of misrule, will destroy him eventually.
Later, the lord of misrule guides everyone to the field right in front of the forest. There, they have created three separate bonfires, and all the villagers start dancing, surrounding them. There comes a time when Rebecca fails to see Grace in the crowd, so she asks one of her friends, whom she had been with moments before. The little girl answers absurdly that Grace is now away. Rebecca goes inside the forest and finds Rebecca following a tall man deep into the forest. She loses Grace and comes back out of the forest, knowing that Grace is beyond her reach now.
What does Rebecca find out about Derry Nash?
The following day, when the police question Rebecca and Henry, they realize that the police are not trying to put in much effort because they are repeatedly asking the same questions. Rebecca asks the police to leave her house and later sleeps on Grace’s bed after praying to God. Suddenly, Rebecca realizes that Grace is whispering in her ears, seeking her to come and save her. She feels that Grace is very much alive and that she is confined in a place where she is trying to escape but can not escape.
This chapter is called ‘The Gift of Blood’ as we see all the villagers enter into the forest to look for Grace. But they fail to find anything apart from the winds Grace was wearing that night. However, the police have discovered a clip where Grace is seen talking to a man with a triangle-shaped tattoo in his hand, the same man who wore the Gallowgog costume during the play. Later that night, Rebecca and Henry learn from a local pub that the boy’s name is Derry Nash, and he lives on the outskirts of the village. Rebecca and Henry do not lose any time and enter the Nash property quite immediately.
Rebecca confronts Derry’s grandfather, and Henry tackles him. Then, Rebecca enters a campervan and finds some ominous handmade structures in the wall. In the middle, there is this little girl dressed like a Harvest Angel sitting on a throne. The structure is made from animal skin that is still bleeding from all over. By now, Rebecca understands that there is a cult, and her daughter desperately needs saving because the people who are involved in this can go to any extent. Later that night, Rebecca finds Grace in her dream again, who is seeking help from her.
What does Rebecca learn about Jocelyn?
On the third day (in a chapter named ‘The Gift of Fire’), Rebecca seeks help from the villagers who are present in the church. She asks them to pray for the well-being of her daughter. But Jocelyn suddenly interferes and says that God can not bring back her daughter because God does not have her daughter. Jocelyn repeats the exact words that Rebecca has found in Derry Nash’s property: ‘He stands in the field and waits.’ Rebecca finds this similarity a bit odd as Jocelyn leaves the church, pointing out the fact that Gallowgog has taken Grace, and there is not much time left for Rebecca to do anything about it.
Later, when Ida seems to be possessed by something she has seen, Rebecca pays a visit. An ominous atmosphere takes a toll upon her and Mira. Mira explains that since Jocelyn has lost his boy, too, he has behaved a bit oddly since then. She also tells the folklore about Gallowgog and how Christianity destroyed an old custom. In the old book, it is said that Gallowgog is the spirit of the land.
In 1621, the lord of misrule, a man named Tobias Bron, claimed that he had been contacted by this spirit, Gallowgog, and the spirit had promised him to do wonders for the village. However, as a return gift, Tobias asked the villagers to build a Black Barn where they used to leave gifts and offerings for Gallowgog. However, these offerings were children, and when the Church learned about this, they burned Bron and his followers to put an end to this heinous custom.
Rebecca later sees Jocelyn and learns that he is in a totally incurable state as he has accepted the fact that Gallowgog has taken his son as an offering, and he will do wonders for the village. She realizes that Jocelyn has put himself as the new Tobias Bron in front of the villagers, and the saddest part is that he believes in these stories. No matter how much the locals believe in the folklore, Rebecca knows that she needs to hurry or else she will lose Grace forever.
What happens to Derry Nash?
When Rebecca finds out that Jocelyn is teaching the children in the school and their parents about these customs, she realizes that the whole town is helping him and that Grace is never to be found. So, she goes to Grace’s room, finds some odd drawings, and tells Henry about this cult thing. Henry disagrees with Rebecca, thinking that due to the absence of Grace, she is losing her mind and submitting herself to this folklore. Rebecca leaves the house and goes straight to the vigil organized for Grace’s well-being.
When Henry arrives at the vigil, he sees a cult thing going on as everyone is singing ‘All Is As Was’, the title of the fourth chapter of the story. There, the whole town sits silently in front of Rebecca, knowing that Grace is the perfect offering that Gallowgog has needed for a long time. Henry punches Jocelyn in the face and wants him to stop this whole cult thing right now. However, Jocelyn asks them to leave, and when they return home, a mob attacks them.
Derry Nash comes at the moment and asks Jocelyn for the trick of getting to Gallowgog. He says that he tried to save Grace from being captured inside Black Barn, but it was already too late. So, now he calls the mob upon him and helps Rebecca escape. But sadly, the mob captures her. Rebecca witnesses how ruthlessly Jocelyn kills Derry as he was trying to interfere with the cult. Later, Rebecca is taken away from the place to the school.
Lord Of Misrule (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Why does Jocelyn Kill Henry?
When Rebecca regains her consciousness, she finds herself beside Jocelyn, who doubts that she still has not learned her lessons. Rebecca constantly says she now believes in the cult, and she is ready to devote herself completely. But Jocelyn is persistent in what he wants as he brings Henry and makes him sit the way Tobias Bron was made to sit, covered by the witnesses of something horrifying that is yet to take place. Rebecca begs everyone she has known for months to be good people, but no one takes one step to help the poor couple.
Later, Jocelyn tells Rebecca that since the Church took away Bron’s life, the revenge will be taken by killing a vicar, which is, in this case, Henry. Jocelyn says he will die the same way Bron died: by burning the whole face. Rebecca begs and begs, but there is no help that seems to be coming. Henry later tells her not to be afraid like him as he knows she will bring their daughter to safety. Jocelyn completes the revenge by killing Henry in front of Rebecca.
Why does Gallowgog allow Rebecca to bring Grace out of the Black Barn?
Right after Henry’s death, Rebecca starts singing the ‘All As Is Was’ song along with the rest of the villagers. They now have complete faith in her and allow her to enter the Black Barn. Rebecca finds Grace the same way she saw the structure back at Nash’s place. But, before she can escape the Black Barn with Grace, she faces the tremendous-sized devil, Gallowgog. She lets the devil watch her face and then offers her hair as a gift. Later, we see Rebecca coming out of the Black Barn with Grace in her arms.
Seeing that Gallowgog has given Rebecca an extraordinary gift, the villagers start doubting the words Jocelyn has shared with them. Rebecca explains that she has allowed Gallowgog to see her face, unlike Jocelyn’s approach to concealing his presence. Jocelyn always uses a mask, which leads to the villagers’ fear of Gallowgog. But, Gallowgog perhaps never wanted children as his offering. It is the folklore that intrigued Jocelyn into becoming a monster. There is a chance that he himself has offered Thomas, his son, as Gallowgog’s offering.
Anyway, as we approach the ending, we see the villagers burn Jocelyn after killing him with a bow and arrow by Rebecca’s order. Rebecca continues to be the vicar of the church. However, a significant change is visible in her appearance as she embraces Gallowgog within herself. By offering her hair, she allowed the devil to enter her body instead of taking Grace’s life (it is, however, unclear what Gallowgog actually did with Thomas or could have done with Grace).
Rebecca’s sacrifice for her daughter was the key to saving Grace. Just like Grace, when Thomas sought help from his father, Jocelyn, he believed in the folktale. He wore a mask and never dared to make eye contact with the devil. Gallowgog took him as a coward and selfish person, but with Rebecca, things were different. She confronts Gallowgog, which leads to trust and bond, which eventually ends up with a part of the devil living inside her body forever while she enjoys her life with Grace and the rest of the villagers.
