JP Nunez
I went into The Seeding almost completely blind. All I knew was that the film had a folk horror vibe, and that was enough for me. Something about folk horror fascinates me, and whenever I hear about a new movie in this subgenre, I have to check it out. Naturally, when I first heard about The Seeding, I was super intrigued. I requested a screener as soon as I could, and when I finally sat down to watch it, I couldn’t wait to find out what thrills this film had in store.
The Seeding was written and directed by Barnaby Clay, and it stars Scott Haze and Kate Lyn Sheil. When the movie begins, we follow a lone hiker named Stone walking through the desert. In the course of his adventure, he comes across a boy who says he’s lost. Like any halfway decent human being, Stone tries to help the kid. However, the boy soon outruns him, and Stone ends up lost in the wilderness.
Stone eventually comes across what seems almost like a huge crater, and he notices that a woman (who we eventually learn is named Alina) lives inside this massive hole. He climbs down a ladder and finds his host hospitable enough, so he decides to stay the night and rest a bit. However, when he wakes up and tries to leave, he discovers that the ladder has been pulled up, so he’s stuck down there with his mysterious new companion.
The Seeding had me completely hooked for the first 30-40 minutes. In particular, from the moment Stone finds the crater and sees Alina’s house, the mystery behind this strange woman is captivating. Actress Kate Lyn Sheil plays her with the perfect mix of kindness and aloofness, so I simply wasn’t sure what to make of her.
On the one hand, Alina is more than happy to help Stone in any way she can, offering him food, a place to sleep, and a wash of clothes, so she appears nice enough. But on the other hand, she has the cold, emotionless air of someone harboring a deadly secret. She doesn’t even act surprised when she sees a random man walk into her isolated home in the middle of the desert, so it’s tough not to suspect that there’s more to her than meets the eye.
On top of all that, there are also a few odd moments here and there that hint at a bigger picture, but again, this part of The Seeding plays its cards pretty close to the chest. I knew something terrible was going to happen, but I had no idea what it would be, and that mystery had me on the absolute edge of my seat the entire time.
Then, a bit after the half-hour mark, the film starts to reveal its secrets, and unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there. We soon learn that a group of stray boys controls the area where Alina lives, and they’re keeping her there as some sort of prisoner. And since Stone is down in the hole with her, he’s at their mercy too.
That’s not a bad premise. It’s just not nearly as interesting as the setup leads us to believe, so it feels like a bit of a letdown. However, that doesn’t mean the movie was automatically doomed to fail. If this idea was executed properly, it could’ve easily overcome that initial disappointment, but The Seeding falls short on that count as well.
The Seeding rests entirely on Stone and Alina’s shoulders. The evil kids only show up every once in a while, and even when they do, they don’t get much screen time. They’re more like plot devices than real people, so Stone and Alina are the heart and soul of this story.
And unfortunately, they’re simply not that interesting. In particular, because Alina is so aloof, it’s hard to forge any sort of emotional connection with her. That demeanor works brilliantly when we’re not sure what to make of her, but once we find out where she stands, it just becomes boring.
What’s more, because Alina is so detached, Stone doesn’t get a chance to show much personality either. Actor Scott Haze does the best he can with what he’s given, but it’s tough to be interesting when your only companion has the personality of a brick wall. Stone ends up coming across as an overly normal, run-of-the-mill guy, and for a lead character with so much riding on his shoulders, that’s not good enough.
All that being said, there is one scene where Alina starts to open up a bit, and she and Stone come alive. It makes you think The Seeding is finally going to get good again, but immediately afterward, the movie takes a drastic turn and makes these uninteresting characters even worse.
I don’t want to spoil the third act, but suffice it to say that this part of the film doubles down on everything that made the second act drag, and it completely kills any chance The Seeding has of succeeding. To be fair, there are a few good things in this final act. Most notably, it features some cool horror imagery here, and the movie ends with a shocking twist that I didn’t see coming.
That ending almost makes up for everything the film does poorly, but it’s not quite good enough. It’s merely too little too late. If you’re looking for some good new horror to watch, I’m sad to report that I wouldn’t recommend The Seeding. It starts with tremendous potential, but then the film squanders it with two uninteresting lead characters and a less-than-ideal group of villains.
The Seeding is set to hit theaters and VOD on January 26.
