Director Barnaby Clay, who previously made the 2016 documentary Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock, makes his narrative feature debut with Horror Thriller The Seeding.
Premiering at the Tribeca in June 2023, with the UK premiere taking place at FrightFest in August 2023, The Seeding now makes it way to theaters and VOD in the USA on January 26, 2024 through Magnet Releasing, and in the UK and Ireland on February 12th for Digital Download thanks to Lightbulb Film Distribution. Set in the confines of the sweltering desert, the film finds photographer Wyndham Stone (Scott Haze: Venom 2018, Jurassic World Dominion 2022) leaving the safety of his car and hiking into the wilderness in the hopes of photographing the upcoming eclipse.
As Wyndham starts to make his way back to his car, he happens across a lost child. As he attempts to help the lost boy, he stumbles further and further away from his car and into the desert. As it gets dark, he finally spots a house that is located in a crater. Seeking help from those within, he climbs down a ladder where he meets Alina (Kate Lyn Sheil: You’re Next 2011, V/H/S 2012). Alina offers Wyndham a place to rest and stay overnight, which he gratefully accepts. However, when he tries to leave the next morning, he finds that the ladder has been removed. Soon the direness of his situation becomes even worse when he realizes that he and Alina are now at the mercy of a group of sadistic desert dwelling boys.
Taking place all in one location, The Seeding makes great use of its setting. Though both the desert and the crater are vast, Clay effectively makes them feel claustrophobic. The contrast between the gloomy night scenes and the brightness of the day scenes feels even more stark given the orange and yellow hues of the desert. The crater certainly looks ominous. These factors in play all make The Seeding very strong visually.
The characters in The Seeding are very interesting because none of them are what they seem. Even Wyndham, who at first appears to be the film’s protagonist, is revealed to perhaps not be quite as nice as the audience first assumed. The reveals are not only limited to the characters though and the way the story unfolds affords plenty of opportunity for horror and surprises. The Seeding presents itself as a Survival Horror and slowly transforms into something much more thought provoking and provocative. The film’s main issue is that to get to that point, the audience must spend a large amount of time with pretty unlikable characters who do not necessarily make that journey easy. Whether or not the journey was worth it in the end it is what will most likely divide audiences.
Overall, The Seeding is a bold debut from Clay that flips the script on the audience and will give audiences plenty to debate – whether that is the good or the not so good. For this, Cryptic Rock gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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