Seeds

Before he knows it, Lily and her brother Spencer (Garr Long) are dropped off at Marcus’ house, their father dealing with a nasty divorce.  “I don’t want to stay here,” little Spencer understandably proclaims, taking one look at Marcus’ despondent abode. To make things even more difficult for Marcus, Lily begins to lust after him. “If we met at a different town,” she says. “If you saw me across the room, would you talk to me?” As Marcus struggles not to succumb to his darkest desires, an entity from his past reemerges, taunting him, leading to a potential unraveling. “Do you know what’s inside you?” Lily asks towards the end. “A monster that wants to eat little girls.”

Deliberately nebulous, Long’s narrative leaves certain things unclear, letting our imaginations piece together the missing bits. The filmmaker expertly juxtaposes (and clashes) two different types of sexual longings: one spurred by youthful hormones, and another induced by potential trauma – or plain psychosis. Similarly to Brian Cox in L.I.E., the filmmaker and his lead achieve the incredibly difficult feat: making a monster of a man somewhat relatable, without ever justifying his actions.

“A strong, confident debut, with something original to say.”

Sure, it may move at a deliberate pace, some scenes may be deemed repetitive, and its humorless approach may be difficult for some to stomach. But it’s a strong, confident debut, with something original to say. We all have a hidden darkness, a lurking depravity, which we suppress, push away, ignore. Violence and sexuality lie side-by-side in the recesses of our minds. Seeds masterfully explores what happens when one cannot stop the dam from opening.