
‘Lord of Misrule’ Film Review: Intensely Chilling Folk Horror
Dec 6, 2023
Director William Brent Bell’s beautifully dark “Lord of Misrule” is a disturbing mystery/horror picture that leans in to historical English superstitions and pagan beliefs to create a compelling viewing experience. Bell’s film finds palpable terror in its unsettling atmosphere and in the crippling fear of a mother searching for her missing child.
Along with husband Henry (Matt Stokoe) and young daughter Grace (Evie Templeton), Rebecca Holland (Tuppence Middleton) has recently moved to a small English town, becoming its local vicar. The citizens seem to like her; filling the church every Sunday and always having a kind word to send her way.
Each year, the town holds a traditional harvest festival, where the citizens seem to have fun with the rituals of their past, turning it into a celebration filled with food, drink, and music. At this year’s festival, Grace has been crowned “Harvest Angel”, and almost immediately begins seeing menacing cowled figures with animal head masks standing in the woods near her home. Soon after these figures begin to appear, young Grace starts defaming her bunny rabbit. It is not long until she disappears; led into the woods by one of the cloaked figures.
As the police prove to be no help, Rachel begins to investigate on her own, slowly uncovering the truth of the town’s inhabitants and receiving an eerie warning from the menacing Jocelyn Abney (Ralph Ineson, a mainstay in modern folk horror and owner of one of the best voices in modern cinema). Through his well-written design and Ineson’s chilling performance, it is Abney who becomes the film’s most involving character.
As the hunt for the young girl intensifies, dark secrets regarding the town’s past begin to reveal themselves. With the terror of losing a child bearing down on her, Rebecca must reach deep within and discover what she will sacrifice to save her daughter from a living evil.
Director Bell patiently creates a proper aura through unsettling imagery. Working with cinematographer Simon Rowling, the two create a visual bleakness that is as artful as it is disquieting. Rowling’s camera and lighting stylings cause the deceptively quaint little town to become as menacing as the dark woods that surround it.
As the actual terror begins to reveal itself, Tom de Ville’s carefully constructed screenplay unravels each scene like a puzzle we are too scared to solve. The writer embraces the folklore rituals, never making fun of them. The ceremonies and traditions are well-researched and help to highlight the slowly building horrors on screen.
With its ever-present darkness (both literal and metaphorical), Director Bell doesn’t go for the black humor found in Robin Hardy’s 1973 classic, “The Wicker Man”, but strives to create an almost unbearable foreboding that refuses to release the audience from its grasp. In this sense, Bell’s work finds comparison to Piers Haggard’s terrifying, “The Blood on Satan’s Claw”. Like that 1971 horror classic, Bell’s film finds it is the purest of souls who are in the most danger.
Publisher: Source link
Mara Brock Akil’s Forever Redefines Black Masculinity
You have played a pivotal role in bringing impassioned projects about Black women, love, and friendship to the small screen. The storylines are relatable, and even when they don't have a personal connection, they're effective. You typically explore the lives…
May 16, 2025
Lizzo Addresses Cancellation, Career Backlash
For Lizzo, it doesn’t feel good as hell to receive backlash. As the Grammy winner recently explained, while she’s used to being the subject of harsh criticism, she’s learning to take it with grace. “I’ve been cancelled a lot,” she…
May 16, 2025
Halle Berry’s Racy Mother’s Day Post Shocks Fans
“What the hell did I just watch?” one user asked. “I feel like I’m not supposed to be seeing this,” someone else quipped.“I never thought I would see Halle Berry naked online selling a lube on Mother's Day,” one X…
May 15, 2025
Anna Camp’s Girlfriend Jade Whipkey: What to Know
Who did Jade Whipkey date before Anna Camp? Jade's romantic history is unknown, but in a joint interview with Anna for the Mr. Big USA TikTok she did tell a hilarious story about the one date she ever went on…
May 15, 2025