40 Acres
40 Acres
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in 1875 in rural Canada after the first Civil War. In a famine-decimated future they struggle to make their last stand against those intent on taking their home.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic thriller set in a dystopian future where food scarcity and societal collapse force a blended Black-indigenous family of farmers to defend their land against cannibals.
The film blends elements of action, family drama, and dystopian horror, exploring themes of xenophobia, generational trauma, and the fight to preserve legacy and culture in a hostile world. There’s plenty of references to cue you in on the cultural themes. The film directly references Octavia Butler‘s novel, Parable of the Sower, and the title 40 Acres connotes the broken promise of “40 acres and a mule.” But while the thematic richness runs deep, they never distract from the action or thrills that this film has in store.
Led by Hailey and Galen Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes) the Freemans’ kick some serious ass when the marauders descend upon their farmland. Gruesome and gory action sequences and tense standoffs make this film pretty thrilling from start to finish. Did not know what to expect going into this, but I fell in love with it pretty quickly from the opening sequence. I also fell in love with the final song as well which I’ve had on repeat ever since. Highly recommend this excellent debut feature from R.T. Thorne.