40 Acres

"Get off our land."

2025 1h 53m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 176

ActionThrillerDramaFantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.

“Get off our land.”

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Cast

Danielle Deadwyler
Hailey Freeman
Kataem O'Connor
Emanuel Freeman
Michael Greyeyes
Galen
Milcania Diaz-Rojas
Dawn
Leenah Robinson
Raine
Jaeda LeBlanc
Danis Freeman
Haile Amare
Cookie
Elizabeth Saunders
Augusta Taylor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: R.T. Thorne
Writers: R.T. Thorne, R.T. Thorne, Lora Campbell
Languages: Cree, English, Portuguese
Countries: Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cree, English, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by R.T. Thorne, shot by Jeremy Benning. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Todor Kobakov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dev Singh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Danielle Deadwyler and Kataem O'Connor and Michael Greyeyes carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Get off our land.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt29634843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

R.T. Thorne directs. Jeremy Benning behind the camera. Todor Kobakov scores. Dev Singh cuts. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in Cree, English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cree, English, Portuguese.
3Directed by R.T. Thorne, shot by Jeremy Benning. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Todor Kobakov. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dev Singh shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Danielle Deadwyler and Kataem O'Connor and Michael Greyeyes carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Get off our land.".
8IMDB entry: tt29634843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeremy Benning
Original score: Todor Kobakov
Editing: Dev Singh
Production design: Peter Cosco
Costume design: Charlene Akuamoah
Makeup / hair: Antonio Hines
VFX supervisor: Andrii Bieliznoi
Sound: Steve Moore
Stunt coordinator: Angelica Lisk-Hann
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $754,751
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: 40 Acres (2025)

Awards

Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

R.T. Thorne

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2025-07-02
★ 8/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/40-acres-review/ "40 Acres is an impressive debut from R.T. Thorne, demonstrating remarkable control over both the technical and thematic elements of the work. Although set within the post-apocalyptic genre, it transcends its boundaries by offering a deep character study and a relevant social analysis. Anchored by a magnetic performance from Danielle Deadwyler and a high-caliber technical and artistic team, this is one of the year's most surprisingly memorable films. A testament to resilience, belonging, and the fight for a place - both physical and symbolic - in a collapsing world." Rating: A-
Brent Marchant2025-07-29
★ 6/10
Films about dystopian futures are getting more popular these days (are they trying to tell us something?), but they’re not all created equal, and this debut feature from writer-director R.T. Thorne is one of those that doesn’t quite cut it. The picture’s intriguing premise starts off with considerable potential but, regrettably, as it unfolds, it loses traction, meanders, repeats itself, and unsuccessfully tries to fuse changes in tone and direction that don’t mesh. In a world ravaged by a deadly fungal pandemic, civil war and famine, humanity’s remnants struggle to stay alive, with farmland having become the most precious and priceless commodity. But holding on to this resource has become challenging given the rise of roaming bands of marauders seeking to steal it from its owners at any cost. Such is the experience of the Freemans, a family of African-Americans descended from Civil War survivors who migrated north to Canada after the conflict and settled on a lush parcel of land that has been in their possession for generations. Under present conditions, however, they must fight to retain it, combatting the invasively cunning intruders with same the same forcefulness and guile used by the would-be thieves. Leading these preventive efforts are parents Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) and Galen (Michael Greyeyes) and their four children. They’ve trained the youngsters to be diligent and disciplined, which has helped to keep the farm productive and protected. But now, with the growing outside menace threatening them, they must be more vigilant than ever, a challenge considering the growing independence and unreliability of their eldest, Manny (Kataem O’Connor). As he comes of age, Manny has been increasingly looking to find his own path, one that frequently distracts him and doesn’t always align with the family’s objectives. And, as matters intensify, the Freemans are thus placed in ever greater peril. The depiction of that peril, however, becomes redundant, tedious and dubiously graphic after a time. The narrative also grows somewhat incongruent from the material that launches the film, namely, through the introduction of a far-fetched cannibalism storyline involving characters who more closely resemble zombies than their prototypical flesh-eating counterparts, who usually have the good sense to at least cook their food before consuming it. The film also has some of the worst sound quality I’ve seen in quite a while, its dialogue often coming across as garbled and barely intelligible (an increasingly annoying quality in many movie releases these days). To its credit, this offering features some gorgeous cinematography, an eclectic soundtrack and score, several engaging and unexpected (but underdeveloped) narrative themes and generally capable performances by the cast (despite not having a better script to work with). Ultimately, though, it’s unfortunate that the execution here doesn’t match the concept behind the story, coming across like an awkwardly conceived cross between the “Mad Max,” “Rambo” and “Walking Dead” franchises. Judicious retooling might have improved the finished product, but, sadly, in its present state, those behind this effort could sadly be said to have bought the farm.