Danielle Deadwyler

Kataem O'Connor

Michael Greyeyes

Milcania Diaz-Rojas

Leenah Robinson

Jaeda LeBlanc

Haile Amare

Elizabeth Saunders

Tyrone Benskin

Myriam Côté

Jacob Gabriel

Patrick Garrow

Zeegwon Shilling

Ava Weiss

Tyson Kirk

Eric Daniel

James Eddy

Jr Marasigan

Derek Barnes

Geoff Meech

Anita Nittoly

James Binkley

Randy Butcher

Mike Chute

David Chinchilla

Al Vrkljan

Craig Henry

Jean-François Lachapelle

Justin Howell

Kevan Kase

Pat Kerton

R.T. Thorne

Jennifer Holness

Lora Campbell

Glenn Taylor

Taj Critchlow

Andrew Frank

Mark Gingras

John Laing

Sudz Sutherland

Dave Hudakoc

Peter Cosco

Jeremy Benning

Dev Singh

Sandy Pereira

Charlene Akuamoah

Todor Kobakov

Stephanie Gorin

Kim Taylor-Coleman

Reid A. Dunlop

Sterling Thomas

Temilola Adebayo

Antonio Hines

Chancelle Mulela

Stacie Merriman

Neil Morris

Adam Prince

Paula Gregg

Carolyn Clendenning

Sabira Abdus-Samad

Syed Ahmed Bokhari

Luke Ellis

Bobby Fraser

Greg McLellan

Stuart Dunbar

Stephanie Fournier

Ryan Woods

Margaret Shain

Helen Tracey

Andrew Aowka

David Ottier

Jessica Rogers

Sam Glogowski

Mike Ashton

Sasha Moric

Peter Sweeney

Joe Turner

Nigel Hartwell

Corbin Noonan

Alexandre Fishbein-Ouimette

Jessica Goebell

Jim Fleming

Steve Moore

Lucas Roveda

Ed Douglas

Dermain Finlayson

Andrii Bieliznoi

Andrii Bilym

Sergii Mashevskyi

Angelica Lisk-Hann

Victoria Goodman

Dennis Lafond

Sammila Vassell

Nick Stead

Thomas Liccioni

Dillon Jagersky

Action

Thriller

Drama

Science Fiction

40 Acres

Hungry Eyes Media

4T Productions

Fela

Backhome

Canada

English

Manuel São Bento

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/40-acres-review/

"40 Acres is an impressive debut from R.T. Thorne, demonstrating remarkable control over both the technical and thematic elements of the work.

Although set within the post-apocalyptic genre, it transcends its boundaries by offering a deep character study and a relevant social analysis. Anchored by a magnetic performance from Danielle Deadwyler and a high-caliber technical and artistic team, this is one of the year's most surprisingly memorable films.

A testament to resilience, belonging, and the fight for a place - both physical and symbolic - in a collapsing world."

Rating: A-

Brent Marchant

Films about dystopian futures are getting more popular these days (are they trying to tell us something?), but they’re not all created equal, and this debut feature from writer-director R.T. Thorne is one of those that doesn’t quite cut it. The picture’s intriguing premise starts off with considerable potential but, regrettably, as it unfolds, it loses traction, meanders, repeats itself, and unsuccessfully tries to fuse changes in tone and direction that don’t mesh. In a world ravaged by a deadly fungal pandemic, civil war and famine, humanity’s remnants struggle to stay alive, with farmland having become the most precious and priceless commodity. But holding on to this resource has become challenging given the rise of roaming bands of marauders seeking to steal it from its owners at any cost. Such is the experience of the Freemans, a family of African-Americans descended from Civil War survivors who migrated north to Canada after the conflict and settled on a lush parcel of land that has been in their possession for generations. Under present conditions, however, they must fight to retain it, combatting the invasively cunning intruders with same the same forcefulness and guile used by the would-be thieves. Leading these preventive efforts are parents Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) and Galen (Michael Greyeyes) and their four children. They’ve trained the youngsters to be diligent and disciplined, which has helped to keep the farm productive and protected. But now, with the growing outside menace threatening them, they must be more vigilant than ever, a challenge considering the growing independence and unreliability of their eldest, Manny (Kataem O’Connor). As he comes of age, Manny has been increasingly looking to find his own path, one that frequently distracts him and doesn’t always align with the family’s objectives. And, as matters intensify, the Freemans are thus placed in ever greater peril. The depiction of that peril, however, becomes redundant, tedious and dubiously graphic after a time. The narrative also grows somewhat incongruent from the material that launches the film, namely, through the introduction of a far-fetched cannibalism storyline involving characters who more closely resemble zombies than their prototypical flesh-eating counterparts, who usually have the good sense to at least cook their food before consuming it. The film also has some of the worst sound quality I’ve seen in quite a while, its dialogue often coming across as garbled and barely intelligible (an increasingly annoying quality in many movie releases these days). To its credit, this offering features some gorgeous cinematography, an eclectic soundtrack and score, several engaging and unexpected (but underdeveloped) narrative themes and generally capable performances by the cast (despite not having a better script to work with). Ultimately, though, it’s unfortunate that the execution here doesn’t match the concept behind the story, coming across like an awkwardly conceived cross between the “Mad Max,” “Rambo” and “Walking Dead” franchises. Judicious retooling might have improved the finished product, but, sadly, in its present state, those behind this effort could sadly be said to have bought the farm.

Official Restricted Trailer

40 Acres( 2025)

Get off our land.

Overview

Top Billed Cast

Social

A review by Manuel São Bento

Written by Manuel São Bento on Wed Jul 02 2025

Media

Recommendations

Facts

Status

Original Language

Budget

Revenue

Keywords