Gwen (2019 film)

Gwen is the debut feature film of writer-director William McGregor. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018, where the films young star Eleanor Worthington Cox received the Toronto International Film Festival Rising Star award. The film is produced by BAFTA and EMMY award-winning producer Hilary Bevan Jones. .

After the Toronto International Film Festival premier 'Gwen' was picked up for distribution in the US and internationally.

A UK theatrical release is expected summer 2019.

Synopsis
A folk story set in the dark hills of Wales during the industrial revolution.

Cast

 * Eleanor Worthington Cox as Gwen
 * Maxine Peark as Elen
 * Richard Harrington as Edward Morris
 * Mark Lewis Jones as Mr Wynne
 * Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Doctor Wren

Reception
Before release Screen International picked out Gwen as one of the buzz titles from the UK to see at the American Film Market 2018.

Gwen also featured in the Great8 program at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, a showcase by the British Council of exciting new UK talent.

Critical reception after the films world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival was positive, with an 83% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film became one of the festivals buzz titles drawing praise for its folk horror routes and unnerving tone.

"‘Gwen’ is a Gorgeous Slow Burn Reminiscent of ‘The Witch (2015 film).... Visually Gwen cleverly blends tropes from the Western frontier film with gothic horror. The cinematography, particularly the isolated and threatening landscape of the town caught in the shadow of the mines, is stunning and atmospheric. So too are the film’s most explicitly horrific elements: Gwen’s recurring nightmares of her mother, accompanied by the lingering creak of doors on the soundtrack and slow tracking investigative shots into the dark. Although the film is hardly gory, McGregor and his production crew deftly craft a great deal of tension, particularly in the lead-up to the grim bloody final conclusion. Clever, beautiful and well-acted, Gwen proves to be an unexpected delight. It’s a slow burn, but one worth seeking out."

"I admire McGregor’s chilly atmospherics most of all, which draw out the right notes of unease as the story builds to its powerful conclusion. He gives modern horror aficionados a few choice jump scares to keep them happy, but Gwen is all about that certain mood common to most folk horror films: a darkening eclipse of dread as the evils of the collective begin to spill out into the night."