Disclaimer: this review was made possible thanks to a screener provided by distributor, Lightbulb Film Distribution
Often directorial debuts are nervous affairs. A piece of art that has the potential career of the filmmaker riding on it’s performance not only critically but with audiences.
Poster courtesy of Lightbulb Film Distribution
The Seeding, comes from acclaimed music video director Barnaby Clay, who has previously directed music videos for Rhianna, Take That, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – along with a couple of short films. Now he releases his first feature film, a psychological horror with psychosexual undertones, written and directed by Clay himself.
After a particularly effective and gruesome opening (which nearly made this me drop my cereal), we follow a man called Wyndham Stone (Scott Haze) who gets lost in the desert while trying to help a seemingly lost child and ends up trapped with a mysterious woman named Alina (Kate Lyn Sheil) in a cabin. Which coincidentally is in a pit that neither can escape from, and they are tormented by feral outlaws.
The story is has a familiarity about it and plays out similar beats if you’re familiar enough with the genre. For a film that relies heavily on a singular location it requires performances that are feel real and engaging. As referenced in the film, the location is a literal ‘microcosm,’ and the themes of human nature are explored to varying degrees of success.
The Seeding relies more on psychological horror than your standard jump scares (although there are still a few) and manages to quell an air of mystery around the mysterious desert outlaws.
I wasn’t sure about the outlaws, who are supposed to appear tormented and feral. They don’t always have the desired effect, sometimes feeling a little too cartoony for their own good. Often, their presence is menacing enough to drive the underlying unease that the film thrives on.
For the few moments of gore, they are fleeting, leave more to the imagination, and feel quite unnerving. This includes a pig’s head being flung at the protagonist, which feels too derivative, and has the feeling of a cheap scare. Clay uses the landscape to his advantage here, using the desert for shots that feel like they should be in a film with five times the budget.
The consistent and gorgeous visual style feeds into the psychological horror aspect of the film. Clay manages finds beauty in the macabre. Whether it’s a plate of rotting food or ants scurrying across a half-eaten chicken leg. For the most part, he gets around budgetary constraints by relying heavily on the small set and visual flair. Which works in the film’s favour. His ability behind the camera is astonishing. If only he had more money to do everything he wanted.
The two main actors, Scott Haze and Kate Lyn Sheil, do their best with the dialogue. In truth, the film could do with a tighter script. Lyn Sheil has a great presence in the film and always manages to give understated and totally psychotic when needed. Haze also gives it his all, whether it’s crying, screaming, or gnashing those pearly white teeth – you can’t say he didn’t care.
The last 15 minutes descends into pure chaos, and the payoff was predictable but satisfying. Revelling in psychedelic horror and a finale that is incredibly bleak, bit manages to redeems the film in other areas.
The perfect place to watch this film is in a slightly tipsy mood, at 2am on the horror channel.
The Seeding will be available to own or rent in the UK & Ireland from 12th February via Amazon, Apple TV, Google, Sky Store and Virgin Media Store.
Words: Brett Herlingshaw
Writer.
