40 Acres

A haunting and action-packed post-apocalyptic tale starring Danielle Deadwyler as the stern leader of survivor family struggling to keep her clan together and people-eaters away.

“40 Acres,” which opened the 2025 Indy Film Fest back in April, is at once familiar and edgy. We’ve seen plenty of these post-apocalyptic stories before, where most of humanity has been wiped by zombies/plague/alien incursion, and the scattered remnants are fighting with themselves for the crumbs of society with which to sustain themselves.

But writer/director R.T. Thorne adds notes of racial tension and environmental awareness to the tale. Danielle Deadwyler, a standout in “Till,” “The Piano Lesson” and “The Harder They Fall,” plays the stern leader of a blended family of survivors trying to eke out an existence farming their plot while bands of raiders attempt to encroach upon their homestead.

Notably, Hailey Freeman (Deadwyler) and her three children are Black, while her husband and his kid are Native American, and the interlopers are nearly all skeevy white dudes. The title is also a reference to the promised, later reneged, pledge made to some freed slaves to be apportioned their own piece of land upon which to subsist (“40 acres and a mule”).

Fourteen years earlier, a fungal pandemic killed most people and livestock, resulting in farmland becoming the most valuable commodity in existence. Everything else fell by the wayside, as shown in an early scene where Hailey, an ex-Army soldier, hosts target practice by having the children shoot at now-useless cell phones.

Galen (Michael Greyeyes), her partner since after the outbreak, works to train the children to be good soldiers and, when needs be, killers. He’s a tough taskmaster, but clearly Hailey is the boss of this clan. She’s the sort of woman who can silence an uppity child’s complaints with just a head snap and a ard stare.

We see their skills early on when a dozen or so invaders breach their electrified fence perimeter with malicious intent. The Freemans quickly dispatch them with a combination of sniper fire and sneaky knife kills amidst the corn, accompanied by haunting whistle signals they use to communicate and terrify their opponents.

“I got a head shot!” chirps the youngest after the frightening encounter.

The girls are played by Haile Amare, Leenah Robinson and Jaeda LeBlanc, but the real focus is on Hailee’s oldest, Manny (Kataem O'Connor), who’s about 18. He’s steadfast and an accomplished fighter, and Hailee often holds up his example as a standard for the other children to emulate.

But he’s starting to question his mom’s authority and the long-term plan for their little enterprise. The Freemans — I guess Galen’s surname was merged or abandoned — trade their crops with other survivor groups, communicating by radio and leaving their goods for pickup at an abandoned facility. One clan is run by Augusta (Elizabeth Saunders), a tough old bird who Hailee knows from the early days of the pandemic.

One by one, these friendlies are being taken out by more and more vicious raiders, including the recent specter of cannibalism as food resources like the Freemans’ have gotten scarcer. Manny and Galen wonder about joining up with others for protection, but Hailee insists they stick by their own claim and kind.

There are rumors of remnants of the U.S. military bringing protection — dubbed the Union Army — up north to Canada where the Freemans reside. But it may just be another ruse by the people-eaters.

One day on a trip, Manny comes across Dawn (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) swimming in the same river where he often sneaks a dip. Of course, his carnal urges are stoked along with his curiosity.

Later, Dawn will turn up at the Freemans’ claiming her outpost — the same as Augusta’s — was attacked. Manny takes her prisoner and hides her, knowing his mother would likely instantly kill any intruder before asking questions.

Things dial up from there, with Manny pushing Hailee to be more altruistic and learn to trust others — even as their situation grows ever more dire.

There’s a lot of action scenes in “40 Acres,” and they’re well-staged, crisp and white-knuckle scary. The last 30 minutes are so are essentially one long chase and shootout.

At times it feels like the dynamic of Hailee and Manny’s conflict gets shifted to the background in preference for more bang-bang stuff. Deadwyler, who I think is simply one of the best actresses working in film today, is empathetic as we identify with Hailee’s desire to protect her people at all cost, even if we sometimes feel like she should let up the “fierce mama” act a bit.

I also could have used a little more development of the main villain (Patrick Garrow), who only truly makes his entrance toward the end of the film (after a brief cameo appearance earlier). He’s positively loathsome in his limited screen time.

“40 Acres” was an interesting choice to open a film fest. Most festivals tend to go with high-toned affairs — historical biographies, indie projects by name actors and the like. This movie straddles genres between family drama, action flick and even horror.

Personally, I like the move. It’s a well-made piece of entertainment with some interesting overtones to get you thinking afterward.