CFDBNYC Out and About

We got to check out 40 Acres, the post apocalyptic thriller directed by R.T Thorne and written by Thorne and Lora Campbell. The film stars Danielle Deadwylder in the lead, Michael Greyeyes, Kataem O’Connor as a family who are descendants of African American farmers who settled in Canada after the first Civil War and now face a army of flesh eating people intent on stealing their home. From that tagline alone we got excited about the film and realized we in for something different.

The opening of the film starts the family fighting off a military group who wants their food ration. From there you knew this film was going to be action until the end and it delivered with some drama in between. The narrative of the film is more about survival, it’s about trust and family. You can tell the screenwriting was very detailed in American history and it’s relationship with Canada(not the present day) The dialogue between Hailey (Deadwylder) and Galen(Greyeyes) after the opening standoff is great and Kataem O’Connor as Emanuel aka Manny is the focal point for most of the themes in the film. His mannerisms throughout the film is spectacular because you can see he’s still learning about himself while fighting off cannibals. As the film progress Manny gets enamored with a girl at the lake who towards the middle of the film becomes the reason of trouble laying ahead for Manny’s family. There were great acting along with the brilliant action sequences. For example Raine played by Leenah Robinson have some of the best lines in the film and becomes a funny character in certain spots of the film. The use of the farmland and wooden hills of Ontario is great for this film. The similarities between this film and the other flesh eating films is minimal but needed and the discrepancy is minimal. The fact this film lead is a black woman is a big step where people can see themselves fighting off cannibals is a different emotion because of the lack of leads in horror films is great.

Overall 40 Acres is a great film to see for the adults and for those drive in dates especially in the middle of July. Highly recommended by the staff here. Enjoy the film on VOD or in a limited theatre run.