Lord of Misrule, the eerie folk horror thriller from director William Brent Bell (The Boy, Orphan: First Kill) opens the 21st edition of the New York City Horror Film Festival tonight; and we've got three brand new exclusive stills to get you in the mood.
Starring Tuppence Middleton (the Downton Abbey films, Mank), Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Game of Thrones, The Green Knight) and Matt Stokoe (Cursed, Outlaw King), Lord of Misrule was written by Tom de Ville (The Quiet Ones, NBC's Hannibal). The plot, from the official press release, reads as follows:
In Lord of Misrule, Rebecca Holland (Middleton) has recently taken over as vicar of a rural English village. When her young daughter Grace (Evie Templeton) goes missing at the local festival, the villagers and local police join in a desperate search. However, the closer they edge towards finding Grace, the more secrets emerge from the village’s dark past. Jocelyn Abney (Ineson), the village’s pagan master “Lord of Misrule,” tells Rebecca that Grace is beyond God’s help – she has been taken by the spirit Gallowgog, and will not return. Abney’s own son vanished from the same festival years before. Soon, Rebecca must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to rescue her daughter from the grip of evil.
If you weren't already convinced by that cast, crew and synopsis, producer Nick Bower has described Lord of Misrule as a “chilling and utterly convincing horror, in the vein of The Wicker Man or more recent hits like The Witch and Midsommar." Sign us well and truly up!
The exclusive stills we have for you today certainly give us all the best folk horror vibes similar to those of the 70s classics - above, a screaming Ineson faces the fire, and below, Middleton stumbles upon what is presumably an eerie discovery, while a young girl (Alexa Goodall) looks well and truly dressed to impress in her festival get up.
If you're lucky enough to be heading to NYC Horror Festival today, make sure you're seated for Lord of Misrule. And if you're not attending, fear not! You won't have to wait long, as Magnet Releasing will release Lord of Misrule in theaters and on VOD on December 8, 2023.
