The Seed (2021)

The Seed is the kind of midnight-movie sci-fi horror-comedy that earns its cult credentials the old-fashioned way: with a nasty little creature, gloriously goopy practical effects, and a wicked sense of humor about the modern need to be seen, liked, and followed. Set against the sun-bleached emptiness of the Mojave, it turns a luxe poolside weekend into an escalating fever dream where the vibe swings from snarky satire to full-body gross-out in the blink of an eye. Sam Walker stages the mayhem with real visual invention, letting makeup and creature design do the heavy lifting so the shocks feel tactile, not digital. It’s not for the squeamish—and the sexual content and boundary-crossing moments may be a dealbreaker for some—but if you like your horror bold, obscene, and oddly clever, this one sticks to your ribs.

The Seed wants to be a sun-baked, meanly funny sci-fi body-horror romp about influencer vanity meeting something truly alien, and the setup in the Mojave is genuinely promising. The problem is it often feels like it’s killing time: the pacing lags, the tone wobbles between satire and straight horror, and the script doesn’t always land its big swings, so the payoff can feel smaller than the premise deserves. If you need tight storytelling, consistent atmosphere, or characters you can root for, this will likely test your patience—especially with its uncomfortable sexual elements and squirmy transformation horror. Still, if you’re in the mood for a low-budget, weird little creature feature with a few nasty visuals and a cynical sense of humor, you might find enough bite to make the ride worthwhile.