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What starts out as girls weekend away in the Mojave desert becomes a tale of horror, death and alien invasion.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.
“The Seed”’s alien effects are easily its biggest draw. It may take too long for this movie to arrive at the payoff, but once it does, the results are unsettling, impressive, and completely surprising. The alien, which resembles a more robust version of the “Eraserhead” baby, eventually makes its intentions known in a series of scenes involving moist, spongelike carpets of flesh and unexpected appendages cast in lurid reds and absorbing shadows. The tone switches with barely any warning and, given the meandering that’s come before, it’s a pleasantly icky drop into body horror.
What “The Seed” lacks in profundity or consistent atmosphere it very nearly makes up for in its application of nasty effects and striking makeup. However, while it has some technical achievements to recommend it, the movie suffers from inconsistent pacing, as if it’s trying to fill time to get to the good stuff. There are themes here worth digging into, but Walker barely considers them beyond the surface level. A stronger balance of theme and scares would make “The Seed” something remarkable. Instead, it’s more like a top-notch effects reel with a lengthy prologue.
