The Seeding

Wyndham Stone travels alone to the desert to photograph a solar eclipse. After taking pictures, he begins his journey back to his parked car. During his walk, he hears a boy, Orion, weeping, which draws his attention and concern.

Stone finds Orion, who claims to be lost and has recently lost his parents. Stone decides to help him and follows Orion as he walks in the direction he believes his parents went. Orion suddenly shows a wicked streak, revealing he is not as innocent as he appeared.

Wyndham realizes he has lost his way back to the car and finds himself stuck in the desert with no food or water. He encounters a tin shelter inhabited by a woman and seeks her help to find his way out, but her calm demeanor and ominous house set a foreboding tone.

Stone rests at the woman’s house, unable to find his car. The next day, he tries to climb out using a tool but falls after a severed animal head is flung at him. He injures himself, and Alina helps remove the hammer stuck in his leg, beginning his days of captivity.

Stone spends several days confined and injured, growing frustrated when Alina does not seek help for him. He starts to realize he is held captive, and Alina encourages him to accept his fate, promising she will take care of him.

Stone attempts to reach out to villagers passing by, asking for help to escape, but they instead torture him, speaking a foreign language and enjoying his humiliation. Alina dismisses their behavior, calling them bored and stupid, but Stone remains trapped.

During Harvest Moon, Stone adapts to life at Alina’s, sowing seeds and observing the villagers bringing goods. Despite living in a desert, he notices the land's fertility and begins to understand the cult-like structure of the community.

Stone, intoxicated, vents his frustration about the villagers and Alina. That night, he sleeps with Alina, unaware that this act will have dire consequences for his fate within the cult.

The next day, Stone meets Lepus, a more thoughtful boy, and encourages him to leave the desert and explore the world. Lepus hopes he won't be allowed to leave, revealing control over the villagers, but agrees to help Stone escape, risking his life in the process.

Lepus is betrayed and killed by a villager after overhearing Stone and Alina planning escape. Alina mourns her son, blaming Stone for his death and revealing her deeper involvement in the cult's dark secrets.

Stone learns that Alina's mother founded the cult, and that she, Alina, and her children are part of a hereditary, manipulative cycle. The cult's members are connected through scars and shared histories, all committed to their insular, reproductive beliefs.

During a blue moon, Alina experiences labor pains and seeks Stone’s help, but he is tempted by the ladder to freedom. Instead of assisting her, he is distracted and ultimately walks away, leaving her to give birth to their daughter during the eclipse.

Alina gives birth to a girl during the eclipse, symbolizing the continuation of the cult. The darkness of the eclipse coincides with the birth, symbolizing the perpetuation of their evil and the cycle of exploitation.

Stone is killed after serving his purpose, and his rotting body is left outside Alina's house. The film closes with Alina’s daughter feeding on her father’s finger, emphasizing the cycle of horror and sacrifice intrinsic to the cult’s existence.