Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Captain_Roberts This is probably one of the better riffs on H P Lovecraft's "Colour out of Space" that I've seen. It is certainly better than both "The Curse" and "Die Monster, Die!" Like any good suspense film (I'd not call this a horror movie) the Empty Acre relies on slowly suspense as the movie progresses. This isn't a movie for gore fans, or people with the attention span of a 5 year old. One really needs to commit to this film, but it is well worth it.As the movie progresses and the relationship between the married couple grows more and more estranged, one can actually see the "Acre" responding to the emotional turmoil, feeding off of it and growing in strength.While certainly not a direct interpretation of Lovecraft's work, the influence is there so strongly that you cannot miss it. This is a MUST for any fan of Lovecraft's work, and I admit that I look forward to seeing what Patrick Rea has done since.

mark ridgway Budget limitations, time restrictions, shooting a script and then cutting it, cutting it, cutting it... This crew is a group of good, young filmmakers; thoughtful in this script - yes, allegorical - clever in zero-dollar effects when time and knowledge is all you have, relying on actors and friends and kind others for their time, devotion, locations; and getting a first feature in the can, a 1-in-1000 thing. These guys make films. Good ones. Check out their shorts collection "Heartland Horrors" and see the development. And I can vouch, working with them is about the most fun thing you'll do in the business. I'm stymied by harsh, insulting criticism for this film, wondering if one reviewer even heard one word of dialogue, pondered one thought or concept, or if all that was desired of this work was the visual gore of bashing and slashing to satisfy some mindless view of what horror should mean to an audience. Let "The Empty Acre" bring itself to you. Don't preconceive what you expect it should be just because it gets put in the horror/thriller genre due to its supernatural premise. It's a drama with depth beyond how far you can stick a blade into someone with a reverence for a message that doesn't assault your brain's visual center, but rather, draws upon one's empathetic imagination to experience other's suffering of mind and spirit. mark ridgway, Curtis, "The Empty Acre"

camera-shy You have to give these guys a break, if you want big budget horror watch one of the million dollar Hollywood movies, these are young guys trying to make it in one of the toughest industries. As a filmmaker myself i can tell you this is well edited, the acting is pretty good, he created good depth of field using a pro-sumer camera and he knew that keeping the angles tight is important when using a camera like the DVX100 as the resolution on these small cameras tends to break up when put to the big screen. I can tell you he does know how to make movies.All famous filmmakers have humble beginnings.The only thing i would say all things considered is that it is a bit too long. If you are an aspiring filmmaker i recommend watching this.

Jon Lachonis Those of the "Instant Gratification" era of horror films will no doubt complain about this film's pace and lack of gratuitous effects and body count. The fact is, "The Empty Acre" is a good a example of how independent horror films should be done.If you avoid the indie racks because you are tired of annoying teens or twenty somethings getting killed by some baddie whose back-story could have come off the back of a Count Chocula box, "The Empty Acre" is the movie for you.Set in the decaying remnants of the rural American dream, "The Empty Acre" is the tale of a young couple struggling with the disappearance of their six-month-old baby. As the couple's weak relationship falls apart, a larger story plays out in the background. At night, a shapeless dark mass seethes from a sun baked barren acre on their farm and seemingly devours anything in its path, leaving no sign that it was ever there.The film is loaded with enigmatic characters and visual clues as to what is happening, and ends with a well executed ending that resonates with just enough left over questions to validate the writer/director's faith in an intellectual audience.There seems to be a sub-text concerning the death of the American dream, but I would hardly call the film an allegory. Riveting, well acted, and technically astute, "The Empty Acre" is a fantastic little indie that thinking horror fans should love.