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[Overlook Review] ‘The Farm’ Is a Tedious Trip to Avoid

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A vacationing or road-tripping couple that fall prey to crazed locals with nefarious plans is well trodden at this point. For Nora and Alec (Nora Yessayan and Alec Gaylord), it means the typical ignoring of all signs in favor of stopping at a less than ideal cabin nestled away on the outskirts of an isolated town full of strange locals. Their one-night stopover before moving on is derailed when they’re kidnapped and separated, both treated as livestock amongst a silent community of animal mask sporting strangers. It’s a premise that promises a harrowing journey for its protagonists that’s reminiscent of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but its execution is more of a head-scratcher.

Dropped in the middle of Nora and Alec’s road trip, we never quite learn where they were going or why, nor do we learn much about them. Their banter reveals that Nora is the most untrusting, cautious one of the two, and that Alec is often dismissive of her input. So, the viewer is never quite invested in their story when they’re kidnapped in their sleep, only to awaken in cages. Alec finds himself naked in a barn full of other caged, naked men, and Nora is harrowingly tied up and artificially inseminated before being imprisoned in a livestock stall. It soon becomes clear that the masked people running this strange farm have a large livestock of humans; the men treated as beef livestock and the woman segregated as dairy cattle. It’s a concept that’s far more gruesome on paper than what transpires on screen.

Written and directed by Hans Stjernswärd, The Farm marks his feature debut. Save for well-shot cinematography by Egor Povolotskiy, it shows. For a scant 80-minute run-time, The Farm drags. There simply doesn’t feel like enough plot to fill the time. Perhaps because there are strange stylistic choices, like opting to follow a masked farmer slasher killer as he bags up multiple arms, slugs it over his shoulder, and walk from one end of the large property to the other before handing a wad of cash to another. Maybe it’s meant to show the hard work these people put into the farm; this is just a normal functioning farm to them, but to a viewer, it’s a tedious slowdown in plot. Stjernswärd also seems so caught up in these moments that he forgets what’s important- the characters.

Aside from never really developing a sense of who they are or why we should care, he also skims over important moments. In one scene we see Alec naked in a cage, having just taken a blow to his skull by a sledgehammer. The next time we see him, he’s inexplicably freeing Nora from her stall fully clothed. We have no idea how he freed himself, and more importantly; how in the hell did he even know how to find her? Even more glaring is how inconsequential Nora and Alec become in their own story. Once captured and imprisoned on the Farm, the story shifts its focus to the people operating it. The protagonists become an afterthought in their own film.

For an insidious setup, there’s surprisingly very little in terms of horrific visuals and viscera. Save for two small moments, most deaths are off screen and much of the human meat slaughtering is implied. The moments they do show feel most exploitive in its attempt to convince the viewer how very bad news these people are and incongruent to the plot. The acting can also be indicative of its low budget at times, namely in some of the more overwrought performances by the crazed locals. All of this could be forgivable in a narrative that’s more engaging. Stjernswärd has a lot of short films to his credit, some with PETA in which The Farm no doubt drew inspiration, and his first feature feels very much like a short film drawn out too far. As it stands, The Farm is hollow; a somewhat interesting idea padded out with a lot of uninteresting filler.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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