12 years ago, humankind was stuck by a deadly pandemic on a global level, which 11 years ago led to a civil war. Since then, civilisation has broken down. Now those who were smaart and proficient retreated to farms they fortified against intruders, and those who weren't quite as smart became marauders or worse, cannibals. Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) was very smart and has not only organized a community based on military drill on her high security farm, she's also part of a network of farms that, installed as an early warning system among like-minded. Hailey's son Emanuel (Kataem O'Connor) was still a kid when socitey went belly up and has known little than militarized farn life growing up - but now he's a grown man, and he starts to question the methods of his mother, which also includes the total isolation of their community. And being a man, he also has other cravings, so when at the watering hole he sometimes takes swims at he witnesses a sgirl (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) he has never seen before doing the same, it's no wonder he falls for her, even though he only watches her from hiding. A few days later, the girl, eventually identified as Dawn, shows up outside the fence of Hailey's farm and asks for help. Now Haily has her taken prisoner under suspicion of being a marauder, cannibal or spy for another farm. However, Emanuel takes pity on her, befriends her, and ultimately helps her escape - only to learn too late that she's only (however unwilling) bait for some enemy forces ...

40 Acres is a pretty compelling piece of anti-utopia that (unfortunately) hits rather close to home when it comes to its portrayal of human nature, especially the vindictive side of it. So in that respect, this film isn't very optimistic, but at the same time it's also a very dynamic piece of action cinema that hardly ever loosens its basic tension and doesn't blink when it comes to violence. And all of this plus a solid cast add up to a piece of entertaining that might not be exactly uplifting, but it's tight genre entertainment nevertheless.

40 Acres will be released to UK and Irish cinemas by Vertigo Releasing from August 1st, 2025.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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