In The Earth
Ben Wheatley delivers one of the first satisfying films made in the COVID-era in this resourceful microbudget folk horror imbued with expansive wilderness and lockdown claustrophobia
The first wave of films made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has, by and large, been a miserable affair. There are those attempting to address the pandemic, like the Michael Bay-produced disaster Songbird, or those made after their filmmakers discovered new-found inspiration during lockdown, like the self-indulgent Malcolm & Marie. The latest, and so far best, in this ever-growing canon is Ben Wheatley’s In the Earth, shot under COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.
Set in rural England, a pandemic (never explicitly named) has brought the country to a halt. Scientist Martin (Fry) arrives at a remote lodge to join his colleague, Olivia (Squires), on a field trip to study the forest’s interconnected network of trees and fungi. Olivia, who arrived at an earlier date, has disappeared, so Martin heads into the woods towards her camp accompanied by resourceful ranger Alma (Torchia).
As the intrepid duo journey further into the trees, strange happenings begin: a destroyed tent is discovered, Martin develops a mysterious rash and the pair are suddenly ambushed by strangers who steal their shoes. Things go from ominous to gruesome quickly, as Wheatley relishes in some thrilling body horror.
In its third act, In the Earth shifts gears again, from the sadistic to something more phantasmagorically weird. Wheatley and his crew’s microbudget resourcefulness is admirable, as is the film’s ambition to imbue the expansive wilderness with lockdown claustrophobia. While In the Earth isn’t bringing anything radically new to folk horror, it is a pleasingly off-the-grid return to form for Wheatley.
Released 18 Jun by Universal; certificate 15