Verve Pictures has released the first trailer for their upcoming folk horror film Inland. Oscar-winner Mark Rylance stars in this Lynchian tale of rural England. The film follows its protagonist (played by Rory Alexander) as he searches the verdant, mossy woods and the crumbling urban landscapes of England, for his disappeared mother (Kathryn Hunter, from The Tragedy of Macbeth and Andor), with the help of his father figure, Dunleavy (Rylance). As Hunter's croaking voice narrates, eerie background voices, lonely vistas, and natural sound effects, including running water and crackling fire, add to the sinister atmosphere.

Eleanor Holliday, Alexander Lincoln, Nell Williams, and Shaun Dingwall also star in the directorial debut of Fridtjof Ryder, who also wrote the script. Says Rylance, "This film wakes me at night. It contains a very old connection to the Green Man rituals of Carnivale, when someone would dress up as the Green Man and emerge from the deep forest to rampage through the town. This version is really scary and powerful, as it should be. There is a beautiful expression of the unconscious energy of nature in man. It reminds me of Eraserhead and Blue Velvet and films I loved but don’t see many of any more."

Who Is Mark Rylance?

British actor Rylance appeared in a number of film and TV productions, including Angels and Insects, The Other Boleyn Girl, and Anonymous, and was acclaimed for his appearances on the British stage. He won Best Actor in for his breakout performance in Steven Spielberg's 2015 film Bridge of Spies, playing real-life Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, who was exchanged to the USSR in return for downed spy plane pilot Gary Francis Powers. That year, he also starred in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, playing Henry VIII's chief minister Thomas Cromwell. He has subsequently appeared in several high-profile films, including Ready Player One, Dunkirk, and Don't Look Up. Last year, he starred in Luca Guadagnino's cannibal coming-of-age drama Bones and All, and the crime drama The Outfit. He can next be seen in Terrence Malick's biblical epic The Way of the Wind, where he will play Satan. He is also the stepfather of actor Juliet Rylance (The Knick, Sinister, Perry Mason).

inland mark rylance
Image via Verve Pictures

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Inland is produced by Henry Richmond, Louis Paine and Ryder in association with Twenty 20 Media, Fablemaze, Fatcontman, Dva Films, Shakespeare Road and Zebrafish Media. Trudie Styler (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels), Sam Tromans, Ian Dawson, Zak Brilliant, Guy Davies, Matt Cook, Toby Cook, Thomas Atherton, Dougal Mackenzie Smith, and Dingwall will executive produce. It premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2022, and was nominated for the Raindance Discovery Award.

Inland will be released on June 16, 2023. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and check out the trailer below: