"A striking feature directing debut."
— Bob Mondello, NPR
"An entertaining edge of your seat thriller, 40 Acres is one the year’s must-see films."
— Courtney Small, That Shelf
"Despite the bleak setting, 40 Acres is a profoundly moving story of hope and human resilience."
— Rebecca Murray, Showbiz Junkies
"A riveting and fiercely political thriller as poignant as a T.S. Eliot poem and as gory as a George A. Romero flick."
— Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail
"A testament to resilience, belonging, and the fight for a place - both physical and symbolic - in a collapsing world."
— Manuel São Bento, FandomWire
"It’s an intense and bleak film that adopts black and indigenous perspectives and applies them to traditional survival narrative tropes."
— Andrew Parker, The Gate
"The film has some heartfelt moments and themes, and while dark and violent, it is, in the end, an uplifting story about family, legacy, and hope."
— Ferdosa Abdi, Screen Rant
"A slam-dunk debut from first-time feature director R.T. Thorne with powerful characters, a tense plot, and a message about generational growth."
— Scott Howard, Under the Radar
"Anchored by a powerful performance from Danielle Deadwyler, 40 Acres is a gripping and emotionally resonant post-apocalyptic thriller that masterfully blends high-stakes action with deep themes of family, loyalty, and the human need for connection."
— Amanda Sink, The Hollywood Outsider
"It’s a remarkable directorial debut and a reminder that Deadwyler can do almost anything with the steely-eyed look she’s known for."
— Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News
"There’s a tense beauty to '40 Acres.' Deadwyler’s forceful energy fills the frame; through her rigid stature and her cleareyed speech, she lends power and humor to this lovingly stern mother."
— Robert Daniels, New York Times
"Deadwyler gives us a highly nuanced action hero who has to navigate through her own flaws like barbed wire. Her portrayal of paranoia is pulse-pounding, especially since it is so well placed."
— Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat
"A dystopian drama with edge-of-your-seat thrills and a beating heart, 40 Acres does what good speculative fiction is meant to do, present a 'what if' premise that comments on contemporary social issues."
— Richard Crouse,
"It invigorates an old premise with fresh ideas, layers well-crafted action with thematic richness, boasts committed performances and is so taut with tension that the audience might snap before the characters do."
— Ty Burr, Washington Post
"For all its reflective history and pointed socio-political commentary, 40 Acres is first and foremost a vivid and wildly entertaining action film. Though it stops short of horror, it carries the haunted spirit of a dark thriller."
— Thom Ernst, Original Cin
"The strong visual language elevates the film over plenty of other limited-location dystopian survival stories that have come and gone over the years -- a good thing, since this is one of the few that actually has something to say."
— Christian Zilko, IndieWire
"There’s an eye-popping action sequence in the second half of the scintillating post-apocalyptic thriller “40 Acres” that is so creative, so visceral and unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a movie before, that it alone is worth the price of a ticket."
— G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
