I know we're not supposed to use the term "elevated horror" anymore, and "40 Acres" isn't quite a horror movie, but the label fits here. "40 Acres" is technically a dystopian survivalist story that seems to have a pretty flimsy premise at first glance. It takes place a few decades in the future, when civilization and food production have collapsed, leading to widespread famine. There's an eyebrow-raising sentence in the opening text that claims that farmland is now the most valuable resource on earth. The Freeman family survives on their family homestead in Canada, trusting no outsiders and keeping to themselves.
Initially, I thought that there wasn't going to be much to the film's worldbuilding beyond providing an excuse for a siege scenario, similar to the "Purge" films. The Freemans consist of mother Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler), her son Manny (Kataem O'Connor), father Galen (Michael Greyeyes), and daughters Danis (Jaeda LeBlanc), Cookie (Haile Amare), and Raine (Leenah Robinson). The kids range in age from under ten to late teens. The opening sequence reveals that all of them are combat trained to some degree, and are very comfortable with shooting intruders on sight, which is a common occurrence. "40 Acres" features multiple sequences of bloody, prolonged action and fight sequences, including a nail-biting standoff involving the two youngest girls having to fend for themselves.
However, it's the scenes of the family trying to hold things together between the eruptions of carnage that are the most fascinating. Hailey is black and Galen is indigenous, and both are from historically marginalized and persecuted peoples. They have a blended family between them and are both very tough on their kids. Hailey is especially strict with teenage Manny, her son from a previous relationship, who increasingly chafes under her restrictions. A major point of contention is that the Freemans choose to self-isolate in order to protect themselves, having little to do with the network of farming families in the area, who communicate through CB radios. Hailey's only regular outside contact is an old friend of hers from the armed forces named Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), who has her own farm nearby.
So when a new threat to the farm emerges, and the Freemans' bonds are tested, there are all these wonderful underlying tensions in place to up the stakes. Parent-child relationships, community building, and historical context all come into play. It's no accident that the invaders are mostly Caucasian and the Freemans are descendants of those who fled oppression, and are now put in the position of having to defend their legacies. This is the feature debut of R.T. Thorne, a Canadian filmmaker, who pointedly includes the characters' pride in their cultures and identities in the film, but keeps the focus firmly on the stories of survival and bridging the generational divide. The action is excellent, but the thematic content definitely helps deliver a more satisfying film than the usual post-Apocalyptic shoot-em-ups.
Danielle Deadwyler is the standout of the cast, playing Hailey as this wonderfully tough, infuriating maternal figure who cares so much about protecting her family from all possible harm that she threatens to alienate them. It's the type of role more commonly associated with male characters, and I enjoyed Deadwyler's performance immensely. She's a fantastic actress all around, and here she proves her action prowess as well. There is never a question that this is a lethal, capable woman who can get into scraps with multiple assailants twice her size and come out on top. Michael Greyeyes and Kataem O'Connor are both also very strong onscreen, and I hope to see more of them in the future.
I think it helps that I wasn't expecting much out of "40 Acres," but it does everything right, and delivers such an entertaining, crowdpleasing experience that I'm a little puzzled why it didn't get a bigger release. Maybe the level of violence involving children meant certain limitations, but I doubt that couldn't be overcome. I'd put this right up there with "A Quiet Place" and "The Last of Us" on the growing list of excellent dystopian family dramas. And I guess that's a genre I need to keep an eye out for now.
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