The Farm (2018) - Honest Review

Read Time: 4 minutes

Year of release: 2018
Run time: 1 hr. 20 mins. | Rated: R | Genre: Action / Horror / Gore | Language: English

A young couple gets kidnapped and treated like farm animals after stopping at a roadside diner to eat meat.

Synopsis

After taking a wrong turn on the motorway, a young couple decide to stop at a roadside diner for food and relaxation. Their fun trip soon becomes a fight for survival when masked kidnappers imprison them on a farm where humans are the main course.

Introduction

If you’re a fan of horror B-movies, this is what you’re waiting for—but if you’re vegan, I suggest you veer away from this, it’s like a horror film made for vegans. It puts into perspective what vegans ask when they defend their idea of veganism, “what would you feel if they treat you the same way as you treat them?” (I’m not here to argue about anyone’s ideology.) Directed by Hans Stjernswärd, who also directed Crypt Fables TV series and the controversial advertisement by PETA titled “How to barbecue with Pigs”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any more information about Hans and what was his inspiration for making this film.

Concept

The concept blew my mind, and its not just because the tables have turned. The masks, as you’ve seen on the movie poster of The Farm, represents their roles as well, namely:

Sheeps are the one who does the manual labor of “sheperding” the victims, bringing them from one station to the other.
Horse, does the deliveries of new victims, and also delivering new “meat” for cooking around the farm.
The Cows manage and collect the milk from the women via a suction cup attached to their bosom.
The Pig, does the butchering. Whether its killing a woman who cannot produce milk anymore, or simply getting meat (body parts) from men in cages.

What I didn’t like

The only issue I had with it was the casting of the main girl, Nora. She’s also the casting director and goes by the same name in real life. The reason is that when she woke up inside a cage in the middle of nowhere, she doesn’t seem fazed, didn’t scream, at most she looked worried. That took away that one moment where she could project her terror unto the audience and let them feel her fear and how horrified she was. You won’t even see her struggle or fight back whenever she’s being transferred, and she’s fully capable of it, no injuries whatsoever. She’s like “okay, where to next?” Such a poor performance. She would’ve elevated the whole experience if she did her part.
There were other parts as well that didn’t make sense if it were to happen in real life, but I won’t be picky considering it is a B-movie-ish kind of a film.

The flimsy dog cages wasn’t that big of an issue for me, but yeah, anyone could’ve gotten out of the cage if they really wanted to, but if we’re going to look at it from the director’s perspective of treating humans like livestock, a dog cage is a great choice.
The thing that separated The Farm from being just another standard B-movie was its amazing cinematography and excellent music. Camera shots and angles were great, its not something you’d expect from a low-budget Tubi horror film. Some shots were continuous, no cuts. Even when the “farmers” were walking around carrying body parts in a plastic bag, and the camera follows them around, its not boring, they had a purpose, and there was this chanting music on the background, the song title is “On My Land by Sergei Stern”. Its oddly relaxing despite the farmer hauling a body in a push cart. Unlike “In A Violent Nature (2024)” where they let us follow the killer aimlessly like a walking simulator.
Like I said, the music was very satisfying and not at all what I expected from a low budget horror film. From the beginning to the point where they arrive at the hotel, to the farm, all the way to the escape/chase scenes.

Beautiful ending

The ending….. Oh that ending though. Can I just say, that was one of the best camera shots I’ve seen in a while. The stillness of the farmers on the dining table and the 2 escapees propped in front of each other laying down in a position of a suckling pig. Literally a suckling pig with an apple in their mouths. The poster itself is a big spoiler to be honest because that’s the scene itself. But regardless of the it, to see it slowly pan out to reveal the whole image was masterful, carefully paired with the background music was chef’s kiss.

Conclusion

In my personal opinion, disregard all the naysayers and the bad/low ratings and reviews online. Sure it had bad parts and some of it doesn’t make sense in real life, but the whole idea is how the world would be like if humans were to be treated as such. The concept was brilliant. Its definitely under the category of gore and cannibalism. It’s like Cannibal Holocaust‘s tribesmen turned chefs and with a farm of their own.

**Although it involves a scene with a baby, that subject matter might be a deal breaker to some of you, just a heads up.**