40 Acres

The Canadian post-apocalyptic siege movie 40 Acres, the high-caliber feature debut by director R.T. Thorne, shows that, in the future, the farm-to-table movement has devolved to eating the farmers. The screenplay by Thorne and Glenn Taylor, derived from a story by Thorne and Lora Campbell, sets up the near-future nightmare in a world where 98% of the animal population was wiped out by a fungal infection. The lack of food quickly led to civil wars and the rapid decay of civilization. Now, over a decade later in the famine-ravaged prairies of Canada, farms are the coolest things around and are the target for starving marauders.

So on top of all of the other chores the Freeman family have to tend to, they also have to chopping up piles of greasy bandits looking to kill them and grab their s**t. Farmers in the future tend to look out for each other, but not matriarch Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler), who steadfastly keeps to herself and looks after her own. Her military training saved her family during the uprisings and has kept them alive on the family farm their ancestors started over a hundred years ago after emigrating from the States.

Michael Greyeyes patrols the woods in a tense scene from 40 Acres, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

“…the news on the short wave radio…is that more farms are going silent as they are being hit by an extremely nasty militia that has turned to eating people.”

40 Acres then introduces us to her son, Hailey’s (Kataem O’Connor), who is nearly grown and thirsting for more tastes of life. He is particularly keen on the mysterious girl, Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas), whom he has secretly spied on at his favorite swimming spot. Hailey’s partner, Galen (Michael Greyeyes), is busy teaching the children, Raine (Leenah Robinson), Danis (Jaeda LeBlanc), and little Cookie (Haile Amare), how to speak his tribal language while also learning them how to kill folk.

But times are getting harder, as the news on the short wave radio from fellow farmer Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), is that more farms are going silent as they are being hit by an extremely nasty militia that has turned to eating people. Soon, the Freemans find themselves holding down the homestead while packs of armed flesh-eaters come closer and closer.

40 Acres has the same flesh-eater innovation and dramatic depth that put 28 Days Later on the map. Thorne follows the high road by using the genre elements as a springboard for a deep dive into a dramatic character study. Instead of watering down the dark future tone of the film, these efforts to flesh out the participants increase the sharpness of the speculative edge that is being held against the viewer’s throat.