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Learn about the history and traditions of the Lord of Misrule, a mock king appointed to preside over Christmas revelries in medieval Europe. Compare and contrast this custom with the Roman festival of Saturnalia and its modern descendants.
Jan 8, 2024 · Lord of Misrule: Directed by William Brent Bell. With Tuppence Middleton, Ralph Ineson, Matt Stokoe, Rachael Joanne Brown. A desperate search for the young daughter of the town's new minister.
- (1.8K)
- Horror
- William Brent Bell
- 2024-01-08
Lord of Misrule. A priest begins a desperate search when her daughter goes missing during the harvest festival. As she uncovers secrets from the town's dark past, she must decide how much...
- (19)
- Tuppence Middleton
- William Brent Bell
- Horror
- Folkbore
- Lord of Misrule Gallery
- Which folk-horror setting would you least like to stumble upon?
- Verdict
By Katie Rife
Posted: Dec 6, 2023 9:50 pm
Ralph Ineson has a face for a folk horror movie. One of the prolific British character actor’s biggest roles was as the fanatical patriarch in The Witch, and he’s appeared in multiple medieval fantasies like The Green Knight and Game of Thrones. So once his long features and deep booming voice appear in Lord of Misrule, it’s clear what’s about to happen. Here comes the repressed, roaring back again.
Lord of Misrule has the disadvantage of appearing relatively late in the most recent folk-horror cycle, which began about a decade ago. (Folk horror is especially popular in the U.K., where this film’s writer, but not its director, are from.) That makes it difficult not to think of Midsommar when viewing this film’s version of a mural that tells the story of a pagan sacrifice, or of Ineson’s performance in Robert Eggers’ "New England folktale" as he monologues about the spirits of the land. But that’s not all of what writer Tom de Ville and director William Brent Bell – who previously worked with Ineson in Brahms: The Boy II – have going on here.
A few additional elements should give Lord of Misrule a boost. First is the inclusion of an unambiguously Christian protagonist, whose faith draws in elements of the possession subgenre with all of its crosses and grumbly-voiced demons. Then there’s the element of British murder mystery – specifically, in the Broadchurch “sinister secrets beneath an idyllic surface” mold. And yet blending all this with a Wicker Man plot about a small town sacrificing outsiders to appease an ancient god yields a result that is less than the sum of its parts.
Tuppence Middleton stars as Rebecca Holland, the recently installed vicar of a picturesque English village. As the story begins, Rebecca is watching suspiciously over a local harvest festival that peaks with a man in a mask, dubbed the “Lord of Misrule,” chasing away a demon and ruling over a rowdy night of dancing and drinking around ritual bonfires. Rebecca doesn’t approve, exactly – she plays for the other team, after all. But she accepts the pagan revelry as part of the culture of her new home. Then, at some point during the festivities, Rebecca’s young daughter Grace (Evie Templeton) disappears.
The Hårga (Midsommar)
Summerisle (The Wicker Man)
Gatlin (The Children of the Corn)
Chapel Folding (The Blood on Satan's Claw)
Other. Tell us in ancient runes in the comments.
That kicks off the murder-mystery portion of the proceedings, which eventually fades as Ineson’s character – a villager who teaches children about local customs at what’s euphemistically called “Nature Club” – steps to the forefront. Here, devils from before and after Christianity conquered the British Isles bewitch Rebecca’s attempt to locate her daughter. Eventually, they lead her to a goatlike figure named Galagog, and the “Black Barn” where he waits for this daughter of God to come and confront him.
Lord of Misrule blends the folk horror, possession, and murder-mystery genres in a way that lessens the impact of all three. While the film’s invented version of British folklore gives it some interesting texture and imagery, it lacks a strong point of view.
- Katie Rife
Dec 7, 2023 · Filmmaker William Brent Bell‘s latest, Lord of Misrule, bears all the familiar earmarks of folk horror. A peculiar town with Pagan roots, bonfires, masked denizens reveling in harvest rituals...
- Meagan Navarro
A priest searches for her missing daughter in a town with dark secrets in this 2023 film directed by William Brent Bell. Lord of Misrule is a limited release in theaters and VOD on December 8, 2023.
As she uncovers secrets from the town's dark past, she must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to save her daughter from the grip of evil. more. A priest begins a desperate search when her daughter goes missing. Starring: Tuppence MiddletonRalph InesonMatt Stokoe. Director: William Brent Bell.
