40 Acres Movie Review (2025)
A tense post-apocalyptic thriller, 40 Acres grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. It makes you ask the question, when there’s very few people left, is there anyone you can trust?
There have been a lot of films written about the “end of society,” but in my opinion, only a few have it pretty close. If life continues as it is (without aliens or comets) we can expect something gray and dreary (like The Road), where desperate people fend for themselves and begin to do things with questionable morals.
40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic thriller about a small family on their farm, trying to survive while keeping all other humans out. There are no animals left and starvation has run rampant, so the people who remain are targeting both farms and other humans. Hailey Freeman is a military officer who runs her family as such, along with her military husband, Galen. Her teen son, Manny, wants to know people other than just his parents and sisters, so when he comes across a young woman, he has to decide whether to kill her or trust her.
To be very clear, this film does border on horror. I am not a fan of horror (I saw this at an AMC Screen Unseen, so I didn’t know what I would be watching) and I had to look away from the screen a few times. When the animals go extinct and there is nothing left to eat, cannibalism becomes something that everyone must be concerned about. This is not displayed in a creepy zombie way or anything, but it isn’t pleasant.
The score of this film is one of constant tension and almost no release. During the quiet, uneasy moments there are often loud gunshots – a few of which had me flailing my arms in the dark theater and almost hitting my son. When I say that the tension is palpable, I’m not kidding.
The cast is great, but Danielle Deadwyler’s Hailey is an absolute standout. The intensity of her performance, the ferocity of her love that is masked by her general severity, and her inability to let go other than one single moment is incredible. This is a mama bear at the end of the world trying to protect her cubs, no matter what age they are.
This movie is a lot, but it is worth the watch. It is a solid thriller with a few funny moments, but it mostly grabs hold of you and keeps you there for almost 2 hours. That said, the actors are great, there is some nice world-building such that you understand what is happening without having to see all that much outside of the Freeman farm, and right when it begins to feel a tad long, it wraps up and lets you go.
I don’t expect this to be a blockbuster that you’ll hear about because these smaller indie films don’t usually get a lot of discussion, but that is the entire reason for Screen Unseen – to try something new and spread the word. Here’s me spreading it. Let me know what you think!
Runtime: 113 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English and Cree with English subtitles
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Yes, I got teary
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Available: Currently in theaters
