Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- eerie
- foreboding
- rainy night
- autumn evening
What critics said
Critics generally found the film atmospheric, well acted, and effectively rooted in folk horror, while noting that its relentlessly grim slow-burn approach may test some viewers.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The story uses nineteenth-century Snowdonia, a suspicious local community, and a growing darkness to create culturally grounded rural horror.
Snowdonia's stark beauty contrasts with the family's vulnerability and the mining company's encroachment.
A ruthless mining company presses into Gwen's land while her family struggles to survive.
The mother's mysterious illness, absent father, community hostility, and growing darkness accumulate into atmospheric dread.
Films like Gwen, and why
The Witch
shares atmospheric folk horror, rural isolation, family pressure, and a grim period setting
The Wind
shares slow burn dread, historical oppression, austere landscapes, and psychological unease
The Blood on Satan's Claw
shares bleak period folk horror, hostile community dynamics, and an encroaching sense of supernatural darkness
Movie Details
- Director
- William McGregor
- Release Date
- 2018-07-12
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (66)
Cast
- Eleanor Worthington-Cox
- Maxine Peake
- Richard Harrington
- Mark Lewis Jones
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
- Richard Elfyn
- Gwion Glyn
- Jodie Innes
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Gwen about?
- A Welsh girl fights to preserve her family and home as illness, industrial greed, and rural superstition close in around them.
- What is Gwen like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Gwen as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Gwen violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Gwen as mild.
- What did critics think of Gwen?
- Critics generally found the film atmospheric, well acted, and effectively rooted in folk horror, while noting that its relentlessly grim slow-burn approach may test some viewers.
- Which films are like Gwen?
- Films with a similar feel include The Witch, The Wind, and The Blood on Satan's Claw.
- How long is Gwen?
- Gwen runs 84 minutes.
- Where can I watch Gwen?
- In United States, Gwen streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel.
