As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.
When you find out Ben Wheatley (the guy behind horror gem Kill List and the trippy A Field in England) shot a film in just over two weeks during last year’s pandemic, you can’t help but feel curious about it. He’s not famous for being a mainstream darling, and his recent exploration in the remake territory was not well received. You know he thrives on what he can control.
And In the Earth is that sort of film, one that feels like a wholesome creation overseen by someone who understands fully what it means to explore a different narrative sense. Wheatley shot this film with a small budget, in extreme lockdown circumstances, and he accomplishes a different glance into the world of “woodland horror”. I guarantee you, you have never seen a film like this before.
Sit back and relax, if only a few minutes. Wheatley’s In the Earth is a fast and tumultuous journey inside a wild array of possibilities that have seldom been developed in cinema. Under a horror consideration, there’s nothing more attractive than this.
The world has been (you guessed it!) ravaged by a virus. We are already used to being sprayed by decontaminants, and we are used to being in lockdown periods. Martin is one of us. He’s been in quarantine and now it’s time to go back to his regular life. He’s part of a scientific study team in charge of analyzing crops and their role in our current circumstance. He recently had ringworm and this is something he discloses to the medic in charge of the facility he just arrived in.
Alongside Alma, he must explore the woods in search of a doctor who’s lost radio contact and who was in charge of analyzing the resilience of crops in these woods. They only last a few hours until something happens. They wake up without shoes and in the middle of nowhere.
As they continue the journey towards civilization in either side, Martin gets hurt. A further encounter with a strange man makes them aware of the situation. Superstition in the area follows a pattern and this man knows a lot about it. There’s something there, and it’s not the monster you’re imagining. It doesn’t seem to be sinister. But that doesn’t mean it wants them there.
The film keeps unraveling as it progresses into something much more horrific. But it doesn’t even exploit the “eco horror” aspect of the situation. Wheatley goes further in analyzing our current nature of being “survivors”. This creates a mindset that he only plays with at the beginning. The film is not about a pandemic, but it’s good enough to be a backdrop for something more profound and ancient.
In the Earth does a good job at placing us inside a battlefield, one that faces the purpose of science vs undisturbed territories. The predatory aspect of human nature explored in the film serves as a gruesome element that’s greatly purposeful for the film. But it’s not what’s most important. In the third act, the addition of a last character is crucial to understand the scenario that’s final to Wheatley’s proposal of horror in the woods.
You’re probably going to watch In the Earth because it’s Wheatley’s latest. The director’s presence in the industry is solid and every day he seems to get more confident in his own stage. In the Earth is a Wheatley joint in every aspect and you will probably love it or hate it. In my case, I’m all in for different considerations of the horror tropes we’re familiar with.