40 Acres

During this summer i went to visit a local farmer that i personally know for almost 20 years. I actually got to know his wife first because we worked together in health care for several years, we try to see each other now and then. Since this couple know how much i love fruit pies they have invited me to dinner for several years, and we usually have home made apple pie with apples from their own apple trees. Since it was too early for apple harvest during my visit they used other ones from a store, still tasted really good. This farmer basically grow everything from potatoes, carrots, white cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and much more. They have lived on this farm for over 30 years and it´s really charming to visit, and one important detail that this farmer have worked hard for is to have plenty of food before winter arrives. That way they are well prepared in case their local store run out of supplies ( they don´t like Super Markets in bigger cities ), or if they need food for unexpected guests. What i love about farms such as this one is that all food is grown naturally not using any pesticide, and they make pickled vegetables as well. What if a world war breaks out or if humans were being attacked by mysterious creatures? We would need a safe location to survive, while having access to food and clean water. This scenario happened in the 2018 post-apocalyptic horror film A Quiet Place from director John Krasinski ( who plays the character Jim Halpert in the American sitcom TV series The Office ). A Quiet Place tells the story of The Abbot family who tries to survive in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind aliens. What makes this horror film unique is that these aliens can hear even the smallest sounds, which makes life very complicated while trying to survive. Really good acting from actress Emily Blunt and especially a strong performance from deaf actress Millicent Simmons. A Quiet Place is a very well made survival horror film that have a lot to say why we need to support each other in crisis. The sequel is really good and the spinoff prequel A Quiet Place: Day One is also worth a watch. One film i have really been looking forward to see is the post-apocalyptic thriller 40 Acres. Is this a film you need to watch this autumn or is 40 Acres doomed to fail finding a larger audience?

The world is no longer the same and society have fallen apart completely after civil war broke out.  In a farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere, a family known as The Freemans are trying to make life worth living together with a couple of survivors. Mother Hailey Freeman ( Danielle Deadwyler ) is making sure everyone is on guard for unexpected visitors, while having radio contact with another farm where her friend Augusta Taylor ( Elizabeth Saunders ) lives. Thanks to food scarcity, they have to find options just to hopefully have a sucessfull harvest. Each day they have to be prepared for cannibals trying to seize their resources.

I am a huge fan of post-apocalptic films in general so i had a feeling that 40 Acres would be something i might appreciate, i did not expect to enjoy this film as much as i do. This film is filled with redeeming qualities such as really strong acting performances, the technical level of film making from director R.T. Thorne, powerful dialogue and how effective the story is told in a psychological way. We have seen similar films in the past that reminds us of films such as The Book Of Eli or TV series The Last Of Us, however what makes 40 Acres different is the family dynamic between these characters. While the world is falling apart and hope seems to fade away, they have each other while struggling to survive. There are no monsters here like they have in A Quiet Place, instead we have human cannibal savages looking for fresh meat ( one way to survive when you are short on food supplies ). Speaking of characters we have to talk about actress Danielle Deadwyler ( who i really enjoyed in the 2021 Netflix western film The Harder They Fall, worth checking out ) as the character Hailey. I have to be honest and this is one of my favourite acting performances i have seen this year so far. Danielle manage to portrait a very broken mother who have problems trusting anyone, except for very few people in her life. You can see the pain in her beautiful eyes as she have a lot of anger issues all over her body. Truly remarkable acting performance you don´t see very often. Actor Michael Greyeyes ( who i enjoyed in the 2019 Canadian horror film Blood Quantum ) also gives a strong performance as the father figure Galen, who especially have a good chemistry with actress Danielle Deadwyler. 40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic thriller that may not be original but manage to tell a strong, emotional survival story where we truly see the importance of caring for a family in difficult times. For being the directorial full feature debut film of director R.T. Thorne i am very impressed. 40 Acres is a delightful surprise and deserves to be seen by a larger audience. Definetely a film you should be watching this autumn, no matter if you choose VOD or a physical copy.

Rating: DDDD