SEEDS: 3 STARS. “revenge drama and expression of Indigenous legacy and power.”
SYNOPSIS: Directed, written by and starring Kaniehtiio Horn, the revenge thriller “Seeds” sees Ziggy, a Toronto bike courier and Mohawk brand ambassador for Nature’s Oath Seed Corporation, called back to her rez to look after her aunt’s house. The happy homecoming is marred by spotty Wi-Fi—making it difficult for her to post on Instagram—and something more sinister that forces her to protect her family’s legacy, their stash of special corn, beans, and squash seeds.
CAST: Kaniehtiio Horn, Graham Greene, Patrick Garrow, Peter Keleghan, Dallas Goldtooth, Meegwun Fairbrother, Morgan Bedard, Josh Bainbridge, Dylan Cook, Cherish Violet Blood, Bonnie Whitley. Written and directed by Kaniehtiio Horn.
REVIEW: A revenge drama about legacy, genetic memory, social media and a cat named Potato, “Seeds” is a tense thriller that delivers its message with plenty of humor before the going gets gory.
Writer, star and director Horn starts things off on an optimistic note, as her character Ziggy signs a deal with a big company that will allow her to leave her bike courier gig and become an influencer full time. She establishes a light, breezy tone, clouded only by Ziggy’s anxiety about being on the rez Wi-Fi and her cousin’s (Dallas Goldtooth) ominous warning about the company she now represents. “They control the seeds to control the food to control the people,” he says. “They are the enemy.”
Soon though, strange things start happening in her aunt’s remote house. The place is ransacked and there are furtive shadows in doorways. The jump scares become real scares when the film’s themes begin to coalesce in the third act.
As Ziggy, Horn is motivated by a deep connection to her heritage, which manifests itself in the film’s grimly funny finale as she allows her “ancestor’s rage to take over.” No spoilers here, but the character becomes involved in a life-or-death situation, one that summons generations of wrath.
It’s memorable, but for my money, not quite hardcore enough. It is horrifying in its idea, but not exactly in its execution. Revenge movies like this trade on hyper violence, and, for once, I wanted this scene to be squishier.
Still, thematically, the finale works and is capped by a memorable final image.
At a quick 85 minutes “Seeds” features great performances— Graham Greene, as the host of a television true crime show who speaks to Ziggy in her dreams and Goldtooth are standouts—and succeeds both as a revenge drama and an expression of Indigenous legacy and power.
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