[Tribeca ’23] ‘The Seeding’ review: Bewildering mix of arthouse and indie horror

The Seeding with a cute baby that looks straight off a  Gerber’s jar. Then you see what the kid is chomping on and you get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. A hiker (Scott Haze, What Josiah Saw) gets lost in the desert and soon stumbles across a lone woman (Kate Lyn Sheil, She Dies Tomorrow) in a dilapidated house. Before long, they are menaced by a group of teenaged boys. 

Nothing is as it seems as the film cleverly uses misdirection. There are teases The Seeding will be a cannibal movie, folk horror, or survival horror. While some of these elements do exist, the film constantly keeps audiences guessing what is going to happen next. This maximizes the fear of the situation.

Haze’s character is put through a lot from painful leg injuries to psychological torture, so it may be surprising to some that he is hard to root for. This may be intentional by writer-director Barnaby Clay. The hiker has been put in a situation where frustration and anxiety run high. It would only be natural for him to be short and to snap at the one person trying to help him.

That being said, the majority of the film is spent with the desperate character. It is the type of story that should invite sympathy from the audience. Instead, there is almost a feeling of “who cares what happens to him?” Thankfully, Sheil will intrigue the audience the entire time. From her first appearance, it is never clear what her motivations are. Things only become fuzzier as The Seeding progresses. Her mysterious emotionless demeanor adds to her mystique.

The character has a dual effect. The time spent with her comes at the cost of any real development to the children. They are downright evil, but the best parts of The Seeding do not involve them. The feral kids do not need much of an arc – they just want to wreak havoc. The ending demands a deeper explanation to their motives that is never given, however.

Ultimately, The Seeding falls in the murky area between arthouse and indie horror. The beautiful camerawork (it does an excellent job of highlighting the ugliness of the situation) and vague story mix with jump scares and shocking scenes. It is a sometimes inelegant combination that is equal parts frightening and frustrating.

Tribeca Festival takes place June 7 -18. All films and events can be found HERE