Post-Apocalyptic Thriller '40 Acres'

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – Post-Apocalyptic Thriller '40 Acres'

Episode Title: Post-Apocalyptic Thriller '40 Acres'
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Host: David Fuerst
Guests: RT Thorne (Writer and Director), Danielle Deadweiler (Actress)
Podcast: All Of It by WNYC

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Introduction to '40 Acres'

In this episode of All Of It, host David Fuerst delves into the intricacies of the newly released post-apocalyptic thriller, '40 Acres'. The film, starring Danielle Deadweiler and helmed by writer-director RT Thorne in his feature debut, presents a gripping narrative set in a world devastated by a deadly fungus that has eradicated all livestock. This scarcity has led to societal collapse, rampant theft, and even cannibalism. The Freemans, a blended black and indigenous family led by matriarch Haley Freeman (Deadweiler), navigate the perils of defending their homestead farm in Canada against these threats.

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Origins of '40 Acres'

David Fuerst initiates the conversation by exploring the foundational ideas behind '40 Acres'. RT Thorne shares that the story stems from his personal relationship with his mother, a Trinidadian immigrant who faced significant discrimination in Canada. This relationship underscores themes of cultural and historical preservation within the film.

RT Thorne (02:37):
"Truthfully, it really started with my relationship with my mother... she was a Trinidadian immigrant, came to Canada and suffered a lot of discrimination... she was a tough cookie."

Thorne emphasizes the importance of understanding one's history and culture, a motif that is intricately woven into the film’s narrative. He sought to translate the universal generational conflicts and familial bonds into a high-stakes sci-fi environment, honoring his mother's influence while exploring deeper societal themes.

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Cultural and Historical Themes

The film intricately balances its post-apocalyptic setting with profound cultural and historical undertones. RT Thorne explains that the necessity of historical knowledge and cultural preservation is pivotal for survival in the movie's universe.

RT Thorne (04:48):
"This idea of cultural and historical preservation within ourselves was very important to the family. And so it grew out of that."

The Freemans engage their children in activities like book reports to instill a sense of history and cultural identity, mirroring Thorne’s own upbringing. This emphasis ensures that amidst chaos and destruction, the preservation of identity remains paramount.

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Horror Elements and Storytelling

While '40 Acres' is deeply rooted in cultural themes, it does not shy away from delivering intense horror elements. RT Thorne discusses the strategic choice to introduce the family’s harsh reality through a violent encounter right at the outset.

RT Thorne (10:52):
"I wanted the story to drop you into their lives... their existence is brutal... it's a hard existence."

This initial portrayal serves to immerse the audience immediately into the perilous world the Freemans inhabit, establishing the constant threats they face and the lengths they must go to protect their land and loved ones.

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Character Analysis: Haley Freeman

Danielle Deadweiler brings Haley Freeman to life as a steadfast and disciplined matriarch. Despite the violent surroundings, Haley maintains strict rules, notably a policy against cursing, highlighting her commitment to cultural respect and personal discipline.

Danielle Deadweiler (12:17):
"This is just the way of this world."

Her character embodies the tension between maintaining decorum and exercising the necessary harshness to survive, reflecting the complexities of leadership in dire circumstances.

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Family Dynamics and Generational Differences

The relationship between Haley and her son Emmanuel introduces a poignant exploration of generational differences. A pivotal scene showcases Haley reprimanding Emmanuel for making light of a gruesome discovery, underscoring her concerns about his understanding of their precarious situation.

Danielle Deadweiler (15:10):
"I have to tell you how severe life is. I have to protect you... And if it's not sinking in..."

This dynamic illustrates the struggle between imparting wisdom and the frustration that arises when younger generations grapple with adopting these survivalist mindsets.

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Representation and Cultural Significance

A standout aspect of '40 Acres' is its representation of a black and indigenous blended family as central heroes. RT Thorne emphasizes the importance of this portrayal, highlighting the resilience of these communities in the face of historical and ongoing challenges.

RT Thorne (17:29):
"There's been an attempted eradication of our lives, of our identities... I love that they are the ones that are the most resilient in this future."

This deliberate choice not only enhances the film’s depth but also offers much-needed representation in a genre where such narratives are scarce.

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Real-World Parallels and Pandemic Influence

The narrative of '40 Acres' was further influenced by the real-world events of the COVID-19 pandemic. RT Thorne reflects on how the pandemic's disruption of food systems and societal structures informed the film's depiction of scarcity and self-sufficiency.

RT Thorne (09:39):
"When we did go into the pandemic... it became very real... Do I actually know how to raise food, make the land produce so that I can do this if I have..."

This connection adds a layer of authenticity to the film, resonating with audiences who experienced similar disruptions.

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Filming and Production Insights

Shooting '40 Acres' in northern Canada presented unique challenges and opportunities. Danielle Deadweiler shares her personal connection to the land, drawing parallels between her own childhood experiences and her character's deep-rooted relationship with the farm.

Danielle Deadweiler (07:44):
"Danielle... you can really feel the earth watching this movie. The whole journey that the food takes... touching the earth with their fingers."

The authenticity of the setting enhances the film's immersive quality, grounding its speculative elements in tangible, relatable environments.

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Conclusion

'40 Acres' emerges as a multifaceted film that transcends traditional genre boundaries, blending intense horror with profound cultural and familial themes. Through the compelling performances of Danielle Deadweiler and the visionary direction of RT Thorne, the movie offers a thought-provoking exploration of survival, identity, and resilience.

David Fuerst encourages listeners to experience the film firsthand, highlighting its unique ability to evoke both visceral and intellectual responses.

David Fuerst (24:09):
"It does not just fit neatly into horror... You have to check out the film."

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'40 Acres' is currently playing in theaters, promising audiences a riveting journey into a world where cultural preservation and survival instincts collide amidst apocalyptic chaos.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, introductions, outros, and sections unrelated to the main content, focusing solely on the in-depth discussion about the film '40 Acres'.

Transcript

[David Fuerst]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm David Fuerst filling in for Alison Stewart. The new movie 40 Acres takes its name from the famous broken promise after the Civil War, that promise of reparations to formerly enslaved African Americans. Of 40 acres and a mule. In the new film, the 40 acres may be there, but there is no mule in the world. The film imagines a deadly fungus has wiped out all livestock. Farms are the most precious land and society has crumbled. Danielle Deadweiler plays Haley Freeman, the matriarch of a blended family on a homestead farm in Canada that was passed down to her. The Freemans tend to their crops and defend their land in a world where resources are scarce and many people have resorted to theft and cannibalism. Here's a clip featuring Haley radioing to a fellow. Excuse me, to a fellow farmer. Haley speaks second.

[Danielle Deadweiler]

I figure you've heard about the attack by now.

[Unnamed Character]

Thought your Union army was gonna come.

Take care of that.

[Danielle Deadweiler]

Yeah, well, with the Fleming's missing, that makes three farms gone dark. Starting to feel serious. Farmers could use your help. Union government sent some soldiers.

[Unnamed Character]

Government ain't done nothing but kill, steal and lock up black folks before they even fell apart. So sorry, I ain't stepping in to help any of them, but I ain't.

[Danielle Deadweiler]

Asking you to help the youth. It's farmers. Even if you came out here, trained them for a couple days, it make all the difference.

[Unnamed Character]

Sorry, I can't risk the exposure with.

[David Fuerst]

Threats coming from all around them. The Freemans have to protect their farm and their family. 40 acres is in theaters now starring Danielle Deadweiler and written and directed by RT Thorne in his feature debut. And they both join us now on all of it. RT Thorne and Danielle Deadweiler. Welcome.

[Unnamed Character]

Thank you so much for having us.

[David Fuerst]

Thank you, R.T. there are a lot of elements in this story. A world where livestock are wiped out, a civil war, the idea of farmland being the ultimate commodity, an allegory for reparations. Where does this story begin for you? What was the first kernel of an idea?

[RT Thorne]

Truthfully, it really started with, you know, relationship with my mother. And, you know, I really wanted to speak, I think, probably about what she means to me, my life, and how she's guided a lot of. A lot of my life and particular moment in our relationship where, you know, I was at a certain age and I was struggling to sort of figure out my own sense of freedom. My mother was a Trinidadian immigrant, came to Canada and. And suffered a lot of, you know, discrimination and sort of had her way of, of maneuvering through the world and, and wanted to impart that knowledge down to me. So there's very strict household. She was not a military, you know, assassin, you know, saying, but, but she was, she was, she was a tough cookie, you know. She is a tough cookie.

[David Fuerst]

So the movie, it's not literal, obviously.

[RT Thorne]

No, sir. No, sir.

[David Fuerst]

But it sounds like there are some elements of that relationship in the movie.

[RT Thorne]

Absolutely, absolutely. And it started with that, with that space of sort of wanting to have a conversation about sort of that, that, you know, what, what can be a very universal conflict between generations and really paying tribute to, to her as a woman who, you know, taught us how to move through the world. And then I'm a genre kid and, and I love, I love, you know, science fiction and horror and thrillers and, and wanted to sort of project that relationship into a world that had the most, the highest stakes you could imagine. And, and part of that is also rooted in her very adamant need for us to learn about our, our histories and, and, and our culture and know where we came from. And so a lot of the stuff that is in the movie with, you know, Haley getting her children to do book reports and understand their culture and history, that came from my mother while I was in school. She was making us do book reports on the weekend, reading text.

[David Fuerst]

Nice.

[RT Thorne]

So that's where the historical component really started to come in. This idea of, you know, cultural and historical preservation within ourselves was very important to the family. And so it grew out of that.

[David Fuerst]

And RT that historical context and that deep relationship, big parts of the movie. But let me just say right now, it does not fail to deliver on the horror.

[RT Thorne]

It's scary. Yes.

[David Fuerst]

Daniel, what was it in this script that felt different when, when you picked it up?

[Unnamed Character]

Oh, everything about the land felt familiar, quite frankly. And women who have this maternal. The discipline, the strictness, the need to protect, the need to instill survival skills, all of that felt extremely familia. But putting that in the context of the world, of the fugitivity that they're essentially living in, inside of their farm, inside of their home. But yet the expansiveness of the education, the expansiveness of the survival tactics, all of that was something that was curious and intriguing to me. But at core, what does it mean to live on land, to grow it, to have such a historical allegiance and putting of your limbs and your soul into this, into this dirt? Those are things that were critical to me at the moment. RT And I talked about that before I even flew up to northern Canada, north of Toronto and Sudbury to shoot because I was on my own little trek about what does it mean to connect to my family and the ways which we had, or that I. The short ways, the small ways that I had known because I was a child and my grandparents had a garden and we would play in it sometimes, and they did all these other things to maintain family and culture that weren't necessarily connected to governmental resources and whatnot. And so when this came along, it just kind of clicked. And we shot during the strikes on a waiver, and everything just came together, and it just spoke to me for all of those reasons and a bit more, and traveling to Canada to do this, on this land and to think about the history between black folks in this nation and in Canada and to consider the shift of things relationally. So everything, all of those things, the familiar and the unfamiliar, brought me to 40.

[David Fuerst]

Talking about all of those farming details, Danielle, you can really feel the earth watching this movie. You know, all of the journey that the food takes, literally from farm just outside the house to table, as these people are really touching the earth with their fingers.

[Unnamed Character]

Yeah. It's such a big deal to people across the political spectrum, across the. From city folks to country folks, like, people are returning to this understanding of where things derive. A chicken nugget isn't just a chicken nugget from birth. Right. It's a chicken. So people are learning and wanting to implement these. These ways in their life presently. And so Artis, you know, just a part of that landscape or that cultural escape of folks who want to get back to that understanding. And so Haley and the Freemans as a family are forced to do so as a result of the political, you know, war climate of. Of the world they live in.

[David Fuerst]

And rt, there's a real split in this film between the people who know how to grow things, know how to, you know, use the land, and those who do not.

[RT Thorne]

Yeah, yeah. And a lot of that, you know, I was writing it before we went into the pandemic, so I've been writing it for a little bit of time, I'll tell you the truth. But when. When we did go into the pandemic, that's when everything really started to hit home in a major way, you know, and the first. The first. I would say the first year of that pandemic, when we were all quite unaware of how it was going to turn out. You know, it's easy to think about it now. We're past it. But in those first, for a while, we could not, you know, in Some communities. In a lot of communities, we could not get fresh fruit. You know, grocery stores were not stocked.

[David Fuerst]

Were you thinking, what movie did I just write here?

[RT Thorne]

Well, yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? So that. That's when it became crystallized to me in a very real way where I was like, you know, do I actually. Am I actually capable of providing food for my family? Do I know how to raise food, make the land produce so that I can do this if I have, you know, because these. These, you know, the infrastructure around us is not providing for us. And so it became very real. And. And I can't lie, a good deal of the research that I did was.

[David Fuerst]

For myself so you could know what you were talking about.

[RT Thorne]

I was like, I don't even know if this movie around.

[David Fuerst]

Oh, I see.

[RT Thorne]

I better learn how to grow some of this squash and his corn, you know, so.

[David Fuerst]

Wow. Well, you know, speaking of about getting real, it gets real right away at the beginning of this movie. Our introduction to the Freemans in the film is a violent one. We see them take out a whole band of raiders who are coming onto their farmland in pretty gruesome fashion. Why did you want to introduce them to us this way?

[RT Thorne]

Well, I just. I felt that, you know, I wanted the. The store to drop you into their lives. And this is. This is. This is like their weekly lives, you.

[David Fuerst]

Know, day at the office.

[RT Thorne]

Day at the office for them. Yeah. You know, it's quite different than a day in the office for nearly anybody else. No, I thought. I thought, you know, look, the best way to show you who these people are is to show you what they have to be up to. And. And it's a very brutal existence. It's a hard existence. And. And it's one that is like, yeah, very little sympathy in their world. You know, if you have farmland in this. In this world, people are coming for you on the regular. And. And Haley, you know, needs to be able to train her children to do the things that need to be done because, you know, a stray. A stray bullet or a blade is a difference between life and death, and they need to be able to continue without her. So it was. It seemed like the correct way of introducing, even though it's harsh. And then I like the challenge of introducing you to somebody in a very challenging way and then have you hopefully fall for them by the end of the movie.

[David Fuerst]

Right. Because it's not a cuddly way to get to know these characters. You don't begin in a place of sympathy.

[RT Thorne]

Right.

[David Fuerst]

You're like, what is happening? And Danielle, you play this incredible character, Haley, the strong female lead to this film, around whom, really, this entire universe revolves. And despite all of this bloodshed that we see in this opening scene, Haley has this strict no cursing rule. Tell us about that and some of her priorities.

[Unnamed Character]

You know, I just first want to say, yeah, RT came to me because I'm cuddly, because I'm sweet, and I'll absolutely. So I just appreciate him for magnetizing me to this. I just think that's old Southern black folk ways. Right. It's a part of respect and not falling into, you know, just overdoing it and gluttonous behavior in a certain kind of way. So, you know, and. And at the end of the base level, you're not an adult. You don't get to say what you want to say in that way. And so there are. There are these. These things that are counter to each other. Yes. My poor baby, who is the youngest, gets to shoot cannibals in their head or raiders in the head and is gleeful about a headshot. And yet, no, it's not okay for her to curse. This is just the way of this. Of this world.

[David Fuerst]

You know, I want to play a clip from the film that shows some of these family dynamics. Haley's son Emmanuel, stumbles across a cannibal outpost, really, where he finds hanging bodies. And back at the farm, Emmanuel makes sort of a casual joke about it. And several family members do as well. And Hailey takes issue with Emmanuel in particular.

[Unnamed Character]

You think bodies hanging in the depot, People we probably knew dead, soon to be eaten by the same bastards that shot your sister. You think that's funny?

[RT Thorne]

No.

[Unnamed Character]

No. I think you think it's a joke.

All y'. All.

Did I or did I not say we were on high alert? Was I unclear?

Was I unclear?

[RT Thorne]

Oh, ma', am.

[Unnamed Character]

The whole property could be lurking with these bastards. But you wouldn't know. Cause none of you was in your position when I called.

And you got.

The audacity to be sitting and be making jokes.

[David Fuerst]

And Haley really focuses her anger on Emanuel here. Not as much the other kids. Can you talk about what, Danielle? What is behind Haley's anger here?

[Unnamed Character]

This is. It's just a. It's a critical moment in between a child's life of. Not even the teen's life of stepping into adulthood and lingering in. In the naivete, in the adolescence. And that's such a. It's such a moment. I mean, it's a moment that my. My son is in. It's like, have I given you enough to know that you can do what you, what needs to be done? Also, have I given you enough to understand that this is a really urgent moment? Do you get it? And if I feel that you don't get it, it's angering me, it's, it's boiling me up to, to confront you in this way. I have to tell you how severe life is. I have to protect you. And if it's not sinking in, how much more, you know, belligerent, how much more pushy, how much more fire can I give you? And sometimes that just doesn't work. Right. Like, why does. The theory is not cracking. And so the practices is going to have to do what it has to do.

[David Fuerst]

I can only, I feel like I can only say what the characters say in the film. That's yes, ma'.

[Unnamed Character]

Am.

[David Fuerst]

Because your character is so, you have to see this movie. Your character is so indelible in this movie. It's, it's, it's just an incredible performance.

[Unnamed Character]

Thank you. Made all of us be quiet.

[RT Thorne]

The movie, the whole, the whole set after that, after that, every take, everybody's just. Can we say cut?

[David Fuerst]

So that went right through. Not only everyone acting, but everyone behind.

[RT Thorne]

The cameras as well, right through the crew.

[David Fuerst]

The film, by the way, is 40 acres. We're speaking with Danielle Deadweiler and the film's writer and director, R.T. thorne. It is now in theaters. And I want to talk about this family. RT in the film, Galen is the father figure in this group. Of course, we've been talking about Haley. The Freemans are a mixed race family, black and indigenous. When did you know that was going to be the case? Was that something that was important to you in the film?

[RT Thorne]

Yeah, I mean, as I kept writing the film and some of the historical context came into it, and really, once we started really having a conversation about land and land sovereignty, you know, and once those conversations came in, it just started to feel right to me that the conversation should be expanded between communities of African descent and indigenous communities. Those are two communities that have been dramatically impacted by colonialism. And, and, and, and, you know, so, you know, there's, there's been, you know, attempted eradication of our, of our lives, of our identities throughout history. You know, in many ways, black communities and indigenous communities have lived through apocalyptic times. You know, it's like you really have. And, you know, it's through the preservation of our identities, the focus on cultural practices that have kept us resilient and alive and an understanding of who we are and so that just. It just. It just fell together and felt right for this family to be a blended one that understood that cultural significance, that preservation being a focus. And also, you know, I just. I started to really look at the history of film, and I'm like, I don't. I don't. I've never seen this. This family centered. I've never seen a black and indigenous family really centered in this, as heroes in this film. You know, oftentimes you may have seen black and indigenous people in westerns, but they're often some sidekick, somebody's got an indigenous wife who doesn't say anything. But you never see these two communities together as heroes in something. And I love that they are the ones that are the most resilient in this future because what they've been through.

[David Fuerst]

Danielle, do you want to jump in on that thought, too? I mean, it's a movie that makes you suddenly think about things when you least expect it. Almost. I'm watching some of it behind my fingers, just peeking through when there's some pretty gruesome scenes going on. But suddenly something will happen. That just makes you think about some of the themes, really, that RT is bringing up.

[Unnamed Character]

As hardcore as this family is, they have the survival ways in all of the ways. How to maintain the land, how to forage. All of that is coming from Galen. The language he's teaching, imparting this onto his children.

[David Fuerst]

He's a Cree speaker, right? Making sure he teaches this language, his children, children, and.

[Unnamed Character]

And everybody understands it to a certain degree, but he's the one who is speaking in. And really, you know, further encouraging this, this knowledge, the. The understanding of herbs and. And what they. What he does forge for, how. How much value herbs and spices are to. To their community and to, you know, to their food. And then thinking about cultural. That is inclusive of the literary. So going back to the book reports, it's not just. If you think of it deeper, it's not just a book report, you know, parable of the Sword, the proletariat's pocketbook. This is understanding economic systems. This is understanding hierarchy. This is understanding the. Imagine the black imagination, indigenous imagination, on how to survive difficult times. And as RT has imparted before in previous interviews we've been in together, he says that Michael Gray Eyes, who plays Galen, always says, you know, we have lived in apocalyptic times. We are in an apocalyptic time times. It's now, in a way. And we are. We have this knowledge. And, and these are the. These, These. This kind of knowledge is critical to what it means to get to another side, to get to the other side. And so having the awareness of, say, a Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. She's. She had imagined this back in the freaking 80s. You know, what it means to. To think about community, to think about spirituality, to think about what am I carrying with me just in case. I think that that's just the beauty of this family coming together from these two specific American experiences.

[David Fuerst]

All of that, plus the generational differences that we were talking about earlier. Right. R.T. haley and her son Emmanuel from very different places. Right. Hayley lived through all of the changes, the pandemic that brought on the collapse of society. Emmanuel was just a kid when it all began. And as we. As we wrap up here, can you talk about how some of those generational differences really play out in their relationship and what that brings to the movie?

[RT Thorne]

Sure, yeah. I mean, you know, look, it's very much, you know, like I said, that's. That's kind of a universal thing that happens with all families. And I think the connectivity to. To what, you know, what goes on in a family is very important. I love films that are character based, character driven. I think the. The family unit is something that inherently all humans can connect to. And so, you know, I was very interested in exploring this thriller, but through a family lens and, and that the conflicts within the family, those are actually the biggest things. There's this. There's all this scary stuff that's around them that's putting pressure on this family. But you come to care about this family and you hope that they can resolve their differences before everything goes wrong. And those are the most interesting films to me, where I'm so invested in the characters. I just, I'm. I'm almost screaming at somebody, like, stop, you know, listen to your mom, or do whatever it is that you need to do so that you guys can survive.

[David Fuerst]

There was some screaming at the film in my home when I was watching.

[RT Thorne]

Right. Amazing. Great. I'm happy it happened. But that's. That was, you know, that was the sort of, you know, pressure cooker that I wanted to put the audience in and for them to care about this family enough that by the end, you know, when everything goes down, you have a sense of relief and hope, you know, and heart in this film. So.

[David Fuerst]

And. And as we're. As we're. I think it's becoming very clear. There's not one basket where you can place this movie. Right. It doesn't just fit neatly into horror. I would like to thank you both so much for joining us today. You have to check out the film. It is called 40 acres. It is in theaters now starring Danielle Deadweiler, written and directed by RT Thorne in your debut, which is incredible. It is such a treat to have you both with us today. Thank you for joining us on all of it.

[Unnamed Character]

Thank you. This has been beautiful.

[RT Thorne]

Thank you, Ira.

[Ira Flatow]

I'm Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, climate change, genetic engineering, childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship wnyc.

[David Fuerst]

Org.