“Starve Acre” is a 2024 film written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo. It features a talented cast, including Matt Smith as Richard, Morfydd Clark as Juliette, Arthur Shaw as Owen, Erin Richards as Harrie, Robert Emms as Steven, and Sean Gilder as Gordon. The film follows the story of Richard, who moves to his family estate at Starve Acre with his wife and son, not knowing it would turn his life upside down.
The disturbing and distressing horror film “Starve Acre” is characterized by the outstanding acting of Morfydd Clark, Matt Smith, and Erin Richards. Unsettling episodes of violence that break the audience’s hearts are subtly intercut with the story’s profundity. In terms of horror films released this year, “Starve Acre” is far and away my favorite.
Starve Acre (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Who is Jack Grey?
The film kicks off with a kid named Owen tucked in bed, telling his mother Juliette about strange whistling voices he hears. His mother, Juliette, doesn’t think much of it and just tells him to go to sleep. Juliette is married to Richard, the love of her life. The couple recently moved to a remote estate called Starve Acre (a pretty weird name). Turns out, this place once belonged to Richard’s abusive father. It’s also where Richard grew up, filled with bad memories. So, it’s pretty odd that he chose to move back to a place that haunts him.
Things get tense when Owen attacks a foal with a stick, blinding it. Concerned, they take Owen to a doctor, who suggests that moving to a new place might be causing Owen’s aggression. But Juliette believes it’s because of a voice in Owen’s head belonging to someone named Jack Grey, who tells Owen to do things he shouldn’t. This mention of Jack Grey disturbs Richard, hinting he might know who Jack Grey is. When Juliette asks him, Richard ignores it and says Jack Grey is just a wood sprite. It is nothing but a character from old folk stories made up by people like Gordon to scare children. Gordon, for context, is the man who looks after Owen when Richard and Juliette are busy with work.
What happens to Owen?
One day, Richard tells Owen about an old oak tree that used to be a local gathering spot. People would meet there to trade animals, conspire, and even hang thieves. Richard believes Gordon has filled Owen’s head with stories, saying the tree was a gateway to another world. Richard tries to set things straight. He tells Owen that Gordon is superstitious and more into folk tales than reality. Richard’s father, Neil, was also a big believer in the tree and Jack Grey. He thought that the tree could grant wishes in exchange for a “suitable payment” or sacrifice.
When Owen asks about the tree, Richard answers that it was cut down for farming. However, Owen is fascinated and wants to find the roots of the old oak tree. After the incident at the farm, Richard starts spending more time with Owen, thinking he’s getting a handle on his aggression. But fate has other plans for Owen and his family. Richard and Juliette’s world falls apart when Owen has a severe asthma attack and collapses. Juliette and Gordon rush him to the hospital, but it’s too late. Owen is declared dead on arrival.
What happens after Owen’s death?
After Owen’s sudden death, Juliette and Richard’s lives are never the same. They just lost their child, and it’s tearing them apart. Richard manages to suppress his emotions and cope with the pain, but Juliette is a wreck. She doesn’t sleep and spends all day lying on the couch, possibly blaming herself for Owen’s death, wondering if she could have prevented it by being more careful. Owen’s passing drives a wedge between them. Richard, whether intentionally or not, often blames Juliette, asking where she was when their boy was having an asthma attack. Their grief and guilt are pulling them further apart, making a heartbreaking situation even worse.
When Richard isn’t questioning Juliette, he spends his time digging up hare skeletons and assembling them. In the weeks that follow, Juliette starts having visions of Owen calling to her as if he’s still alive. On freezing nights, she wanders off with no memory of how or why she got there. At first, it seems like Juliette’s way of coping with the pain of losing her son. However, we can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with Jack Grey and the oak tree.
A few days later, a woman named Mrs. Forde arrives at the estate to conduct mantra sessions and claims it will help Juliette let go of Owen and prepare her to welcome a new life. After that, the hare bones Richard dug upstart to show signs of life as if rejuvenating. In just a few days, flesh and muscles begin to form around the skeleton. To our shock, the hare comes back to life.
Richard can’t understand how a dead carcass can grow a heart and come alive again. However, it seems connected to the land it was buried in. It’s possible that the land is magical and has granted the hare a new life. When Juliette finds the hare, she starts to love it as if it were her own flesh and blood. The hare, at one point, even attacks Harrie, but Juliette doesn’t pay any attention to it.
Starve Acre (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
What Happens to Steven & Harrie?
Harriet finds Neil’s book in Richard’s study and discovers the lore of Starve Acre. The book mentions that followers would gather outside Starve Acre and make three sacrifices—a man, a woman, and a child. Once the sacrifices are completed, a dandelion will bud. However, the villagers eventually cut it down and buried it to seal off the pagans’ entry to the spirit world.
When Richard was just a kid, his father used to strip him down naked and make him stand outside for hours till his fingers turned blue. Neil was fixated on the idea of sacrificing Richard to please the tree. However, for some reason, the tree, or the spirit of Jack Grey living in it, just couldn’t seem to accept the sacrifice. But for what reason? Neil may not have loved Richard and was merely rearing him to be a sacrifice; therefore, the tree may only accept offerings from those who are close to the donor. In this case, the sacrifice failed.
Coming full round to the present, Juliette has a bizarre vision in which Steven demands the hare while brandishing a shovel. So, Juliette murders Steven, completing one of the three sacrifices to keep it safe. However, it was really the second offering. Juliette informs Richard upon his arrival at the house that Owen’s death has materialized Jack Grey, something Neil was unable to do, and that they must now tend to his needs. It is also revealed that Juliette did not freeze and purposefully delayed seeking help on the day when Owen passed away.
After Mrs. Forde helps Juliette let go of her grief over her son’s death, the tree finally embraces Owen’s sacrifice, giving Jack Grey the physical form of a hare. At last, Richard caves into Starve Acre’s lore and murders Harrie with a hammer, rounding off the trio of victims. In the final seconds, we see Juliette breastfeeding the hare (Jack Grey), showing that they’re now his parents and will raise him as their own, possibly sacrificing more innocent souls to please him.
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