A trio of influencers take a trip to the desert to stay at the house of one of their father’s house to create some content, catch some rays, and spend some girl-time together. Soon, something falls from the sky and requires their attention if they want to survive.
Written and directed by Sam Walker for whom this is a first feature film after 5 short films, The Seed starts up with a group of girls who quickly become insufferable. Thankfully, as things evolve, so do they. The writing here sets these girls up to be mostly vapid and like people most of us wouldn’t want to spend any time with, doing influencers no real favor by giving these girls the personality some may expect of people who make a living posting on social media and parading in swimsuit with no real job. That stereotype aside, the film eventually gives them more personality and some stake that become more and more real as their lives are endangered. This leads to a sci-fi horror film that is actually a lot of fun. There is some serious non-sense, some airhead-ness, some bad decision, some ridiculous events, but in the end, the characters start having something they need to fight against and something to fight for. The comedy here is on the darker side, but it’s rather fitting.
The cast here turns in good performances, meaning that most of the leads come off annoyingly vapid and shallow. Playing our three leads, the influencers, Charlotte, Heather, and Deidre are Chelsea Edge, Sophie Vavasseur, and Lucy Martin respectively. Their work really sets the tone and gives the film it’s center. Their personalities only evolve once the event at the center of everything happens, something that will make them change in different ways, not all for the best. The work these ladies put in make the film interesting on the acting level and show that even when being shallow and disagreeable, a certain amount of acting is needed to sell the story.
Without spoiling anything, the special effects here include some great practical effects that help the film advance and make the film that much more entertaining. The work in practical special effects here is solid. Another solid aspect of the film is how it looks. The cinematography by Ben Braham Ziryab gives the location a style and almost a personality. The way the images play with the light, colors, and content shows that this was shot with a plan and a lot of talent.
The Seed is a dark sci-fi horror comedy with characters that are well-played to be mostly annoying. This does lead to kind of wanting bad things to happen to them at first. Eventually, they get a bit more of a personality and the film becomes a more fun watch. The practical special effects here are excellent and worth checking out the film for them alone. The film looks great, sounds good, and has some really fun sequences peppered throughout. It’s not going to be for everyone and there is some body horror mixed in with a few nonsensical elements that just have to chalked up to the sci-fi side of everything. The film is fast-paced and gives plenty to watch as it moves along. There are a few air brained elements here and there, but it’s easy to just move past these and enjoy the film.