LORD OF MISRULE (2023)

Available On Demand and digital download from Magnet Releasing!
Directed by William Brent Bell.
Written by Tom de Ville.
Starring Tuppence Middleton, Ralph Ineson, Matt Stokoe, Rosalind March, Evie Templeton, Anton Valensi, Robert Goodman, Alexa Goodall, David Langham, Jane Wood, Sally Plumb, George Keeler, Luc Ineson, Catriona Yuill
Check out the trailer here!!

When her daughter Grace (Evie Templeton) goes missing at a harvest festival, the town’s new minister Rebecca (Tuppence Middleton) and her husband Henry (Matt Stokoe) desperately look high and low, delving into the local lore to find her. The spokesman of the town Jocelyn Abbey (Ralph Ineson) and the police assure them they are doing everything they can to find the girl, but there seems to be an ancient and secret tradition going on under the surface of this small village.

The strongest aspect of LORD OF MISRULE are the performances so I’ll talk about that first. Above everyone else THE VVITCH’s Ralph Ineson and his booming voice steal every scene they appear in. Ineson is ominous and powerful as the local who seems to be the tribal leader of what seems to be a cult that is flourishing right under the nose of the church Rebecca is attempting to work for. Ineson shows a lot of range as he is a doting follower of an ancient evil, yet unspoken leader of this village. Directly in conflict with Ineson’s Jocelyn is Rebecca (Tuppence Middleton) who is put through the emotional wringer as the mother of an abducted child. And while he is pretty much emasculated for the entire movie, Rebecca’s husband Henry (played by Matt Stokoe) does an ok job with what he’s given.

There are a lot of aspects that I like about LORD OF MISRULE. This is definitely a folksy folk horror with all of the harvest festival décor looking authentic and elaborate. The masks of the locals are effectively creepy. And the feel of mystery and mysticism is definitely captured by director William Brent Bell. This is a dark stuff dealing with heavy emotions and Bell maintains that tone for the bulk of the movie, making it somewhat of a joyless affair since the abduction happens towards the beginning of the movie.

LORD OF MISRULE offers up pretty much what has become the standard in folk horror. Harvest festivals. Masked townsfolk staring emotionlessly at a stranger in town. A ritual burning that has gone on in secret for ages. A missing persons case. It’s all taken straight from THE WICKER MAN playbook. And while LORD OF MISRULE takes things a bit further into the supernatural realm in the final moments, the lead up to the very sudden and somewhat off-tone ending feels like a lot of movies you’ve seen before. I will admit, the final moments surprised me, utilizing some effects that makes this folk horror a bit more distinct than your run of the mill type. But the strong performances, some creative production and costume design, and unusual ending doesn’t really save it from being filled with many folk horror tropes.