“The Seed” attempts to channel John Waters by way of H.P. Lovecraft, which is an enticing idea. Here, though, the combination of heightened kitsch and effects-heavy tentacled horror clashes more than it complements. The film spends most of its 91 minutes exploring the dynamic between vain Diedre (Lucy Martin), vapid Heather (Sophie Vavasseur) and final girl Charlotte (Chelsea Edge). The horror hits hard two-thirds of the way through, but the halting momentum up to that point makes it difficult to justify waiting that long.
Shot in Malta with a UK cast, Walker’s movie aims to comment on certain flavors of digital-age American extravagance, but lacks the perspective to make any effective statements. Malta stands in pretty well for the Mojave; there are even Joshua Trees dotting the horizon. However, it lacks certain hallmarks of Americana—not a diner, gas station, or airstream trailer in sight—that would usually define that landscape, or movies about it. The area’s locals consist of an aging cowboy (Anthony Edridge) and a pimply teen (Jamie Wittebrood) who look and sound like cartoonish parodies of rural Americans.
The movie’s statements on the evils of social media aren’t terribly deep either, focusing mainly on Diedre and Heather’s obsession with their phones, Instagram-ready looks, and attempts to cash in on their online fame. Edge’s Charlotte exists as a counterpoint to her friends’ behavior, but she’s mainly defined by not doing, or quietly judging, everything they do. None of these ideas are new. All of them speak to the selfishness and privilege at the core of Heather and Diedre’s existence. These issues are never addressed outright, but instead become the basis for the girls’ brutal, bloody punishment at the hands of their alien visitor.