As the world searches for a cure to a
devastating virus, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the woods. As
night falls, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of
darkness as the forest comes to life around them.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley
Squires, Ellora Torchia, John Hollingworth, Mark Monero
Release Date:
Genre: Horror
Rated R for strong violent content, grisly
images, and language
Runtime: 1 h 40 min
Review:
Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth can best be
described as a earthbound take on 2001: A Space Odyssey crossed with Conrad’s
Heart of Darkness. It’s the type of
horror film that aims to make you uncomfortable to the point where some of the
more extreme moments start coming off as a funny as the film moves on. Those adverse to body horror sequences will
probably be better off skipping this feature since it makes heavy use of it. The story itself feels like a hodgepodge of
ideas which used pandemic fears as a starting off point then got progressively
stranger as it goes on. That’s not to
say that Wheatley, who also wrote the script, doesn’t have something to say but
it’s not a coherent whole. The latter
seems to intentional on Wheatley’s part as he assaults the sense on multiple
front’s. The primary duo of Joel Fry and
Ellora Torchia aren’t required to do much except react to what is happening to
them. Reece Shearsmith and Hayley
Squires do most of the heavy lifting on the creepy factor but the film isn’t
ever scary. Wheately’s In The Earth is
type of film that’ll leave you wondering what you just watched the moments the
lights go up, it’s bound to elicit divisive reactions.
B-
