Parents' Guide to Starve Acre

Movie NR 2024 98 minutes
Starve Acre movie poster: A grey rabbit with branches growing out of it and a child's hand reaching up from below

Common Sense Media Review

Kat Halstead By Kat Halstead , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Eerie British folk horror has language, sex, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Starve Acre Trailer
  • Starve Acre: Matt Smith emerges from a large hole in the ground, looking bedraggled
  • Starve Acre: Morfydd Clark stares intently into the flaring flame of a candle inside a living room
  • Starve Acre: Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark stare down into a large hole with tree roots visible below

Parent and Kid Reviews

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What's the Story?

In STARVE ACRE, married couple Richard (Matt Smith) and Juliette (Morfydd Clark) move to the Yorkshire moors with their son Owen (Arthur Shaw) hoping the fresh air will do him good. But as Owen's behavior becomes more bizarre and a violent incident is quickly followed by tragedy, the couple are gradually pulled into a world of folklore, spirits, and historical evil to help them cope.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Two strong, emotionally intelligent lead performances ground this folk horror in a human place of grief and trauma, yet believably play into the eerie, sinister, sometimes bizarre events that unfold. The second feature film from BAFTA-nominated director Daniel Kokotajlo, Starve Acre is full of ominous foreboding, with Smith (Doctor Who) and Clark (Saint Maud) the married couple at the heart of the story. Its creepiness is enhanced by the misty Yorkshire moors and claustrophobic 1970s interiors, making it easy to get pulled from daily reality into something more primeval and spiritual. The animatronic hare introduced later on adds a weird, fantastical element to the story, which veers between jarringly fake and wonderfully creepy. The film enters into a world altered and uncanny, and sets about creating a new reality that could be seen as both hopeful and horrifying—depending on the viewer.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the themes of folklore and ritual in Starve Acre. What rituals did the movie show and what impact did they have on the characters? How do you think beliefs like this develop, particularly in more rural, isolated places? Can you think of other stories based on folklore and ritual? How do they compare?

  • Grief is another central theme. How did Richard and Juliette each deal with their grief during the film? Did you think it made them more vulnerable to the influence of the local folk stories and the strange goings on around them?

  • Did the violent and scary scenes help tell the story in an effective way? Were they shocking or thrilling? Why? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?

  • Discuss the strong language used in the movie. What did it contribute to the film? Is a certain kind of language expected in a movie like this?

  • How did the movie portray sex and relationships? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

Movie Details

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Starve Acre movie poster: A grey rabbit with branches growing out of it and a child's hand reaching up from below

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