While that mysterious, Lovecraftian threat is what hangs over the movie, the film is mostly concerned with a small ensemble of characters and their varying responses to the presence of something lurking in the woods as well as each other. Under the guise of continuing important ecological research, Dr. Martin Lowery (Joel Fry) enlists the assistance of a park ranger, Alma (Ellora Torchia) to trek into the deep woods to find his missing colleague (and former romantic partner) Dr. Olivia Wendle (Hayley Squires). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In classic Gothic horror fashion, Dr. Wendle went mysteriously off-grid, her letters to Lowery ceasing after pursuing a line of research involving an old book of occultism and a corresponding magical stone, becoming convinced that an ancient natural spirit not only exists in the woods but is trying to communicate. Before Lowery and Alma can make it to the doctor, however, they\u2019re captured by a survivalist, Zac (Reece Shearsmith), who has his own theories about what that spirit might be, and what it might want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the film\u2019s psychedelic\/hallucinatory supernatural elements and its sublime portrayal of madness is territory Wheatley has been over before, in films like A Field In England<\/em> (2013) and High-Rise<\/em> (2015). Yet In The Earth<\/em> has a freshness thanks to its immediacy\u2014we\u2019re never told exactly what pandemic has taken place in the movie\u2019s world, so in that fashion it\u2019s topical yet somewhat timeless, presenting an oppressive sense of danger before the invisible creature\/entity\/thing is even discussed. The casual usage of outbreak accouterments gives the movie an extra flavor of unspoken dread, making the eventual body horror that much more suspenseful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To that point: Wheatley certainly doesn\u2019t shy away from showing gory cuts, wounds and the like, letting the very apparent physical consequences of the story stand in for the unseen metaphysical ones. While some might find it gratuitous, the violence helps blend the survival horror with the folk horror, making the film\u2019s theme of nature that much more tangible. The actual spirit in the woods, named Parneg Fegg, is mostly represented by a series of hallucinatory sequences that get pretty lengthy and daft, but as with A Field In England<\/em>, Wheatley is interested more in the experiential horror of these scenes rather than any plot. Composer Clint Mansell helps create that experience, complimenting the entire film with a variety of techniques ranging from the dubstep-like soundscapes Dr. Wendle uses to attempt to communicate with Parneg Fegg to Tangerine Dream-esque synth tones, all backed up with a few actual plants as instruments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Such a cheeky choice of instrumentation speaks to the film\u2019s secret weapon, which is its dark humor. Wheatley\u2019s films typically have a satiric streak if they aren\u2019t flat-out black comedies, and In The Earth<\/em> not only sends up its human antagonists while keeping them menacing, but manages to find bits of absurdist humor in the disturbing events. Fry is particularly game, his character veering close to being Monty Python-esque at times as his body is hacked at and cut into over and over again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As with the bulk of Wheatley\u2019s work, it\u2019s this humor that keeps the movie from being too pretentious, and helps make it that much more plausible. After all, we already happen to live in a world where people of considerable influence and unfortunate insanity come up with ideas which would be laughable were it not for said influence, forcing them on others in an incredibly destructive manner. The natural environment has put up with us unruly and narcissistic humans for so long, it only seems fair that it might finally decide to take action. That\u2019s why it\u2019d be best to stick to the marked trails on your next nature walk, and continue to wear your mask, lest you meet Parneg deep in the woods.\u00a0![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/crookedc-01.svg\")
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