Colmán Sharkey lives with his wife and infant son on the Atlantic coast where they subsist on the fish he catches with his brother Seán and the potatoes grown on the family farm.
He is persuaded to take on Patsy Kelly, who has recently left the Royal Navy under suspicious circumstances, as a farmhand and fisherman.
Kitty despairs at not being able to help the starving people she encounters but Colmán reminds her that their own meagre food supply is dependent on access to the sea and they will be unable to fish when winter comes.
When the agent is distracted by Kitty's cries, Colmán beats him to death and subdues the police constable, taking his gun in the process.
She stabs him in the leg using a knife previously gifted to her by Colmán, allowing him to strangle Patsy to death while a traumatised Kitty suffers flashbacks to the murders she witnessed.
Arracht received its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia on 29 November 2019.
A review on Filmuforia.co.uk called Arracht "an enigmatic mood piece" with a "brilliant cast" and a "haunting intensity of its remote countryside setting in the coastal region of Connemara".
[15] Film Ireland called it a "fiercely impressive feature debut" from director Tom Sullivan, one that has a "real feeling of authenticity".
[16] Scannain gave the film a 4.0 score out of 5, describing a "phenomenal cast ... with stellar performances from the lead duo" (Ó Héalaí and Ní Chuinn).