In a media landscape that is thoroughly saturated with postapocalyptic movies centering white families whose stories of survival are assumed to be relatable, cowriter \/ director R.T. Thorne\u2019s debut feature 40 Acres<\/em><\/a> <\/em>stands out as an inspired new entry in the genre\u2019s canon. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the film plays things straight with its brutal exploration of what it takes for hope to take root in a world that seems doomed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Set in a near future where the world has been ravaged by a global pandemic, widespread famine, and the outbreak of a new civil war in the United States, 40 Acres <\/em>tells the tale of Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler) a soldier-turned-farmer fighting to keep her family safe. With society largely collapsed and the food production system destroyed by the depletion of arable land, fertile farms like Hailey\u2019s where crops still grow are a precious gift that people would gladly kill for.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To Hailey, the farm\u2019s more than just a remote plot of land up in the Canadian wilderness \u2014 it\u2019s a family heirloom passed down through generations from her ancestors who first claimed it during the Reconstruction. It\u2019s also the home she shares with her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes), and their blended family of children (Leenah Robinson, Jaeda LeBlanc, Haile Amare). But as relatively safe as the Freemans are living off the grid and surrounded by their electrified fence, Hailey and Galen know it could all be taken from them in an instant. That\u2019s why they keep their children trained for combat and ready to defend their land by any means necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Image: Hungry Eyes Film & Television<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hailey\u2019s sternness and insistence that they can\u2019t trust anyone are reflections of a deeper inability to connect or be emotionally vulnerable with people \u2014 especially in the eyes of her teenage son Emanuel (Kataem O\u2019Connor). Every time he sneaks away to be by himself in the woods, there\u2019s part of him that can\u2019t help but hope he\u2019ll see someone new who can make his small world feel bigger. It seems like his wish is coming true when he unexpectedly spots Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas), a girl whose beauty inspires him to start filling up a sketchbook with drawings. But when the Freemans receive word that the small, secretive network of farmers they\u2019re a part of is being methodically attacked by bands of marauding cannibals, Hailey puts them on high alert to prepare for the inevitable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 40 Acres <\/em>comes in incredibly hot with a slick and brutal opening action sequence that immediately sets the tone Thorne \u2014 known best for his work in music videos and creating Hulu\u2019s Utopia Falls<\/em><\/a> \u2014 is going for with his first foray into feature-length filmmaking. The Freemans move like a well-oiled machine as they dispatch a group of intruders with precise headshots from clear across corn fields and close-up knife stabs to make sure the job is finished. They\u2019re lethal by necessity because anything less would mean running the risk of being tortured, murdered, and probably eaten. But Thorne and cowriter Glenn Taylor also foreground how, for all of Hailey\u2019s strictness with her children, she\u2019s also instilled in them a deep understanding of how protecting their lives is key to preserving the Black and Indigenous cultural legacies they are a part of.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In stark contrast to other apocalyptic thrillers like the first two A Quiet Place<\/em><\/a>(s) and the recent Mad Max<\/em> features<\/a>, where people of color were few and far between, 40 Acres <\/em>gets very explicit about how the Freemans\u2019 racial identities shape their experiences in the end times. Often, these kinds of movies lean heavily into images of white nuclear families in a way that makes them read like expressions of social anxiety about dehumanized Others\u2122. But 40 Acres <\/em>frames the Freemans as people keeping in their families\u2019 tradition of survival in a world that has never really afforded them any sense of guaranteed safety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though the film\u2019s very much an ensemble piece, Deadwyler is the standout with a magnetic and frankly terrifying performance that conveys just how scared Hailey is for her children. She would rather her kids hate her than see them devoured by ghouls, but you can feel that it still hurts her when sensitive romantic Emanuel pulls away. Because Deadwyler is so effective at delivering Hailey\u2019s grim warnings about the danger lurking everywhere, it\u2019s a little exasperating to watch as people make exceedingly dumb decisions that set 40 Acres<\/em>\u2019 plot into motion. But as predictable as some of the movie\u2019s beats are, Thorne and cinematographer Jeremy Benning excel at making 40 Acres<\/em>\u2019 action set pieces shine in ways that keep things as exciting as they are stressful to watch unfold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though its final act falters a bit as it tries to amp up the already high emotional stakes, 40 Acres<\/em> finishes strong with a powerful reaffirmation of its central ideas. And as overstuffed with middling stories as this subgenre has become, 40 Acres <\/em>feels like something truly special.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n