SIFF 2025: New Jack Fury // 40 Acres

New Jack Fury
dir. Lanfia Wal

Somewhere between throwback blaxploitation and modern day 80s exploitation spoof, the pure dedication to wanton absurdity and low budget cheese makes this a mostly delightful romp, if not one that overplays its hand even at 84 minutes. It's a visual effects showcase that much like similar microbudget counterparts across the world like the guerilla filmmaking of Wakaliwood or the one man artistry of The Exigency, proves that cinema is a landscape of endless possibility that only requires passion and dedication to create something resonant and brilliant. This resonant passion, including outstanding sequences that utilize Streets of Rage style sidescroller action to deftly avoid the need for extravagant action choreography, are undercut by the unmistakable sheen of generative A.I. It's used so sparingly that it's a wonder why it was even used at all, but the film's GTA-inspired opening credits sequence is so disjointed in style and sloppy in execution that it seems unlikely to have been created any other way. As disappointing as it is when a larger scale production uses A.I. as a way to lazily avoid the effort of hiring actual artists, it's even more disappointing when shortcuts are taken that undermine the efforts of such passionate outsider filmmaking.

40 Acres
dir. R.T. Thorne

Conceptually driven and lost in execution. Mostly bland, post-apocalyptic drivel that maintains little more than a rudimentary grasp on escalating anything to the thrilling circumstances it invokes. Comparisons to The Walking Dead are apt, albeit not complimentary, given that the whole thing barely elevates itself beyond a thick television veneer in both atmosphere and style. Rather than build upon its influences it feels like a pale imitation of any similarity it conjures, and the whole thing lands flat on its aesthetically driven face. Packed to the gills with ideas that gesture at wider implications without ever applying any meaning to them, a mask to cover what is ultimately a shallow shell of a film. Its title certainly gives teeth to ideas about generational survival, providing an ample cause to back the film's central family, but the entire thing taking place in Canada more than undercuts this, making it feel like its galvanizing choice of language has little merit. Largely, the issue is that the entire thing is just weightless and dorky, with video gamey framing that renders its action inert, and cheesy narrative beats that undermine its overly grim tone.

SIFF 2025 takes place from May 15-June 1, 2025. Find out more information about the fest here, and find continued coverage here on Step Printed.