Starve Acre (15)
Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo
★★★

 
SET in 1970s rural England this chilling gothic horror revenge fantasy about the crippling effects of grief is writer-director Daniel Kokotajlo’s follow-up to his award-winning debut Apostasy. 

Adapted from the novella by Andrew Michael Hurley, it centres on Richard (Matt Smith) and Juliette (Morfydd Clark) who relocate to their remote family home, Starve Acre, in Yorkshire when their son Owen (Arthur Shaw) starts acting oddly and upends their idyllic life, throwing it into turmoil.  

Then, when he suddenly dies from an asthma attack, this drives a wedge between his parents who process his loss in very different ways. Richard, an archaeologist, becomes obsessed with  excavating an ancient, folkloric oak tree buried somewhere on their land while Juliette becomes deeply depressed and seeks solace from local woman Mrs Forde (Melanie Kilburn) who conducts a spiritual meditation in the house.

When she connects with Owen’s spirit this sparks a dramatic change in Juliette to the surprise of her sister Harrie (Erin Richards) who has come to stay with her.  

With vibes of Midsommar and The Wicker Man about it, this psychodrama is disturbingly claustrophobic and eerie as it weaves its magic on the viewer. Plus the vast and windswept Yorkshire landscape adds another layer to this unsettling tale. 

Smith (House of the Dragon), as you have never seen him before, and Clark (Saint Maud, The Rings of Power) are mesmerising together and the driving force here. 

The discovery of a hare skeleton which miraculously returns to life makes for a very twisted and macabre ending which will haunt you for days. 

In cinemas, September 6.

Red Rooms (18)
Directed by Pascal Plante
★★★

 
THE fascination with serial killers is explored is this exceedingly unsettling and disturbing deep dive into the subject, the effects of violence and the use of the dark web in this harrowing courtroom horror drama. 

Written and directed by Pascal Plante, the film follows model Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariepy) as she becomes ever more obsessed with the high-profile court case of Ludovic Chevalier (Maxwell McCabe-Lokos) who is accused of killing three teenage girls and making snuff videos of their murders, which he denies.

She attends court every day and makes friends there with a young woman Clementine (Laurie Babin) who believes Chevalier is being framed and makes a strong case. 

With a superlative central performance by Gariepy as Kelly-Anne, who plunges down a dark path to find the missing video of Chevalier’s youngest victim, a 13-year-old girl, this dark psychological thriller takes you with her. It is hard to stomach and as her reality and her morbid fantasies begin to blur it is difficult to keep up. 

Although you never see any explicit violence, like Kelly-Anne you are also reeled in and become equally fascinated with where it will all lead.  

In cinemas, September 6.

My First Film 
Directed by Zia Anger
★★★

 
“This probably shouldn’t be a film… but it is,” states Vita as she recounts the struggles of making her first film, a semi-autobiographical feature about a woman getting pregnant who decides to leave home. 

Written and directed by Zia Anger, it is based on a performance she did in 2018 called My First Film which outlined the making of her first feature in 2010 which apparently didn’t go as planned. 

Odessa Young gives a very natural yet intense performance as Vita, constantly on Adderall, the ADHD drug, who breaks up with her boyfriend during the shoot as he isn’t being very supportive while she is under pressure to finish her film. 

It feels like a fly-on-the-wall-style mockumentary as she coaches her actors, rallies her crew and describes her process as it is happening. 

It is an intriguing, mind-bending drama which ends on a surreal note as she has an abortion in which everyone mimes the actions. Truly bizarre.

Available on VOD from September 6.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (12A)
Directed by Tim Burton 
★★

 
MICHAEL KEATON returns to one of his most iconic characters for the first time in 36 years, reuniting with Tim Burton for a nostalgic nonstop action-packed bumper ride. 

Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are also back from the original film while the no-show of Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, as the sweet ghost couple from the first Beetlejuice, is neatly explained. Meanwhile Jenna Ortega plays Ryder’s moody mini-me teenaged daughter. 

Keaton steals the film with his manic, tour de force turn as Beetlejuice — alias The Juice — who is being hunted by his soul-sucking ex, Delores (Monica Bellucci who is wasted here), and a dead-actor-turned-cop (Willem Dafoe) in a subplot which makes little sense. 

Bursting with nods and references to the first film, it sadly lacks its flair and originality even as Keaton remains the life and soul of this disappointing sequel. 
  
In cinemas, September 6.