Seed (2007)

Director:

Uwe Boll

Writer:

Uwe Boll (written by)

Release Date:

22 November 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

After a seemingly undead man is bound and buried alive, he digs himself back to the surface and seeks bloody vengeance on those who caused him his suffering.

Plot Keywords:

Executioner | Cigarette Smoking | Archive Footage | Hammer | Decomposing Body

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Michael Paré	...	Detective Matt Bishop
Will Sanderson	...	Max Seed
Ralf Moeller	...	Warden Arnold Calgrove
Jodelle Ferland	...	Emily Bishop
Andrew Jackson	...	Dr. Parker Wickson
Thea Gill	...	Sandra Bishop
Brad Turner	...	Larry Thompson
Phillip Mitchell	...	Simpson
Mike Dopud	...	Flynn
John Sampson	...	Officer D. Ward
Tyron Leitso	...	Jeffrey
Michael Eklund	...	Executioner
John Hainsworth	...	Witness
Vincent Walker	...	Inmate #1 (as Vince Walker)
William 'Big Sleeps' Stewart	...	Inmate #2 (as William 'BIGSLEEPS' Stewart)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:R | UK:18 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Pitchblack Pictures Inc.

Trivia:

Was filmed "back-to-back" with Postal (2007).

Goofs:

Factual errors: The press announcement for this movie claimed the story is based on true events. However, the notion that a convict who survives three jolts from the electric chair is automatically pardoned and set free is an urban legend. There is no such law.

Quotes:

[from Trailer]
Davis: I want you to find him, I want you to KILL him, and I want you to put him in the ground so he can never come back again.

Movie Connections:

References Caché (2005)

Soundtrack:

Pour Me Out

A big improvement...

Ever since House of the Dead, I've actively sought out Uwe Boll films to see just how bad they are going to be. With follow-ups Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne, there was an endless stream of badness to enjoy. I'm intrigued as to how the films fail to work despite there being a decent budget (low in Hollywood terms, but plenty to produce something effective), some occasional attempts at interesting camera work and genuine Hollywood talent involved. In all the films, the scripts are undeniably terrible, and as an audience you're never drawn in because at no stage do you care about anyone involved or anything they do. On top of the poor script, there is usually CGI and sound design that is quite simply not up to scratch and which therefore jars with an audience used to Hollywood standards.

It was with this view that i went along for the unmissable fun of a cinematic double bill of new Uwe Boll films at London's Frightfest. Having had Grindhouse pulled from UK release thanks to the bemused US reaction, 'Double Boll' presented the next best thing - 2 actual B- movies in a row. Postal came first and marks Boll's first professional foray into deliberate comedy, not very successfully, but that's another review... Up second, was Seed - as Uwe himself said, a film aiming for no sense of fun at all. It's essentially Uwe's entry into the current gorno/torture porn fad, and was partly motivated by the likes of Hostel not being as harsh as they were claiming.

The biggest shock i had during the film was when the credits rolled and i realised i'd just had an emotional reaction to an Uwe Boll movie that wasn't amusement or boredom. I had actually cared about the characters and had the distinct feeling i'd just watched a proper horror film.

Don't get me wrong, this film is by no means great, but it IS, unlike all the other Boll movies, a film that you can watch on a par with other Hollywood b-grade horrors. With films like Hostel you've got Eli Roth trying to make films as harsh as the old grindhouse/video nasty films of the 70s and early 80s, but Seed would actually be more at home in that era. It's no Texas Chainsaw, but it fits in with the original Toolbox Murders, Maniac or Nightmares in a Damaged Brain - films that presented real nastiness in a way that leaves you feeling, well, seedy. Like those films, the big moments are morally questionable - many will find the opening scenes showing real-life animal cruelty (footage obtained from PETA) too heavy with too little purpose, but personally I found they gave the film real edge - you lose your safety net of Hollywood R-rated violence and feel genuine revulsion. A later scene is a standout for on-screen nastiness and could have become one of the all time roughest gore moments if it wasn't partly let down by a bit of ropey CGI work. The ending too was a nice surprise and something that mainstream horrors rarely go for these days.

Boll-haters (and there's a planet full of those) are still going to find faults with Seed, and there are many, but it is in a class above all his previous output, and gives me hope that he will one day turn around his (undeniably impressive) poor reputation and produce material that is not only acceptable, but actually genuinely enjoyable. If he could just get his hands on a really great script who knows what could happen...