THE SEEDING – Review
DISTRIBUTOR: Magnet Releasing
SYNOPSIS: Wyndham Stone is shooting an eclipse out in the wilderness when he comes across what he believes is a lost boy. When Wyndham is led astray and becomes lost himself he takes refuge with a woman living alone. As he attempts to leave he quickly discovers that neither he or she might be there willingly.
REVIEW: With numerous music videos and two documentaries to his credit, Barnaby Clay takes on a supernatural thriller that you might say takes the themes of Peter Pan’s Lost Boys and Wendy and thinly weaves in some type of wilderness dark spiritualism to create this bizarre tales of survival and parenting in the wilderness.
The narrative feels very thin as right from the beginning the viewer is aware that Wyndham Stone is being led astray. The plot introduces these elements of a strange language, Alina’s strange beliefs and this group of feral children. There are few explanations as to what exactly is going on but right from the start the viewer knows this will not end well for Stone. I would suggest that the narrative has a tone similar to 1971’s “The Beguiled,” but Stone is never as charming as Clint Eastwood and he clearly is not in control of his surroundings. The story is broken up into seasonal lunar names that several didn’t hold any significance to me other than the final, being the harvest moon. There isn’t any character arc as even when Stone says he has changed you can’t help but feel he is still the same. In the last two chapters the story makes big jumps that feel awkward.
THE SEEDING is technically impressive. The opening features some breathtaking nature and landscape cinematography, as well as an interesting sequence of a solar eclipse. They have an impressive location and I enjoyed the production and costume designs, which are accentuated with a nice color palate in the lighting. The house/shack apparently has been there for some time and it seemed to me that it consisted of more modern building materials than it should have. The visual and special effects are solid and convincing. I enjoyed Tristan Bechet’s score. There is a sequence where Stone is following the kid, wondering in the desert, where Bechet’s score gives this sequence a feeling similar to where the astronauts are wondering in the wasteland at the beginning of the original “The Planet of the Apes.” I will say that the score was often mixed a bit too hot/loud and overshadows the dialogue in a few scenes.
Actors Scott Haze and Kate Lyn Sheil are good, just not great. There’s not much range to Scott Haze’s Stone. He often comes across as whiney, fails to gain the viewer's empathy and I find it hard to believe his inability to grasp his situation. Kate Lyn Sheil’s performance is subdued for the majority of the film. There are a few moments of emotional extremes where she shines, but mostly it is vanilla. I wouldn’t say her character is diabolical, but there are times where she delivers lines that her performance needed to be slightly more authoritative. As for the rest of the cast, the boys/young men feel as if they are taking their cue from “The Lord of the Flies” without any material to allow for any depth to the characters.
Given his multiple music video credits, Barnaby Clay’s THE SEEDING has a cinematic style reflective of that medium. There are some visual elements that are not built upon or explained, left of to the viewer to interpret. The viewer is presented with limited to no background on this primordial society, but it seems like a hive with Alina loosely representing the queen and the boys the workers. THE SEEDING is an interesting film, visually enchanting, but not surprising if you see the end coming.
CAST: Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alex Montaldo, Thatcher Jacobs, Charlie Avink, Michael Monsour, Aarman Komic-Bottie, & Harrison Middleton. CREW: Director/Screenplay - Barnaby Clay; Producers - Brian R. Etting & Josh H. Etting; Cinematography - Robert Leitzell; Score - Tristan Bechet; Editor - Stewart Reeves; Production Designer - David Bridson; Costume Designer - Christina Blackaller; Key SFX - Charles Roundy; SFX Makeup - Allie Shehorn & Julia Vinha; Special FX Makeup - Vincent Guastini; VFX Artist - Chris Mackenzie. OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: N.A. TWITTER: N.A. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/JcFh2lOSlfE?si=_KdfIF2gSjEFdWfm RELEASE DATE: In theaters & on VOD Jan. 26th, 2024
**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay), or 👎 (Dislike)
Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri
