Rebecca moves to south-west England looking for a fresh start as the vicar of a picturesque countryside village. In the beginning, things are perfect. The tight-knit community is friendly. And it keeps its quaint traditions alive — including an annual festival in which they drive out a demon called Gallowgog, ensuring a fruitful harvest for the year ahead. But when Rebecca’s daughter goes missing during the festival, she quickly suspects the village and its locals are harbouring something darker under their rustic, rose-tinted veneer.
This is the plot of Lord of Misrule. And director William Brent Bell has done his homework in terms of British folklore (the Lord of Misrule and Feast of Fools are rooted in late medieval and early Tudor traditions), which helps ground his twisting narrative with a sense of reality. But the film’s aesthetics — alongside an enchantingly surreal lead performance from Ralph Ineson — stand in sharp contrast. And the results are quite remarkable.
Perhaps the most dazzling facet of Lord of Misrule is the world which Bell builds. Filled with taxidermy and country cottage kitsch, it feels like we’re stepping into the past, smartphones seemingly the lone reminder that this halcyon, antiquated backdrop is set in contemporary times. It’s reminiscent of Charlotte Colbert’s She Will, Alex Garland’s (frustratingly flat) Men and Francine Toon’s Pine, which create an unnerving air of perpetuity and isolation. Bell — notably an American director — seems to have snapped an idyllic, Anglophilic image of rural England, simultaneously showing us the power and danger of community (a theme Stephen King repeatedly revisits in his work, most notably in ‘Salem’s Lot and “Children of the Corn”). The clever repetition of symbols and language further helps to tether this strange universe together.
While Midsommar has arguably set an unbeatable standard for folk horror, Lord of Misrule is a creepy and captivating addition to the genre. Bell pulls you into his irreverent world and refuses to let go, forcing you to ride out his weird trip until the very end. This picture throws the audience into what feels like something between a fever dream and a nightmare. It also gives us what might be the most bizarre (and horrifying) deity we’ve seen since The Ritual.
CAST
Tuppence Middleton
Ralph Ineson
Matt Stokoe
DIRECTOR
William Brent Bell
SCREENPLAY
Tom de Ville
DIGITAL
8 January 2024
