IN THE EARTH (15, 108mins), drama, horror, sci-fi, thriller
Starring: Joel Fry, Ellora Torachi, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires
Director: Ben Wheatley
Released: June 18, only in cinemas
IF YOU go down to the woods today, pray you don't encounter any of the folks in Ben Wheatley's new psychedelic horror thriller In The Earth.
Set in the aftermath of an unspecified pandemic (In The Earth was written, shot, edited and released during the ongoing one), Wheatley's hugely atmospheric film tracks the darkly comedic misfortunes of hapless scientist Martin (Joel Fry), an enigmatic figure who emerges from lockdown solitude to participate in a British government study of the mycorrhizal fungal network: said to link every forest around the world, it may be of use in accelerating society's return to normality by helping to boost crop yields.
The remote Gantalow Lodge has been commandeered for the programme, with Martin and capable park ranger guide Alma (Ellora Torchai) venturing deep into the "unusually fertile" surrounding forests in search of head boffin Dr Olivia Wendle (Hayley Squires).
Shocker: the woods are apparently inhabited/haunted by an ancient spirit, Parnag Fegg. Quite literally a tourist attraction, she's part of the area's folkore – and the various myths, legends and rituals attached to her have clearly begun to influence even the most supposedly scientific of minds.
For example, hairy supercreep Zach (a genially malevolent Reece Shearsmith) has taken to dwelling alone in a makeshift forest encampment where he can better develop his interests in amateur photography, body modification, booby traps and naturally occurring sedatives.
Martin and Alma's initial sense of unease soon blossoms into a full-on battle for survival and the retention of their sanity in a film which gleefully combines visceral horror – there are a few hugely gross but often very funny moments of body gore – with tense cat and mouse thrills, stylishly packaged up with Wheatley's trademark visually arresting forays into vivid moments of al fresco psychedelic discombobulation (see also A Field In England).
Clint Mansell's superb electronic score pulses and purrs unsettlingly, its vintage synth stylings further enhancing the film's pleasing 'low budget 1970s British sci-fi' vibe, while woodland sounds – bird calls, tree branches creaking, cracking and groaning, soil crunching underfoot, seed pods bursting etc – are thick in the mix, highlighting another key character's omnipresence: nature herself.
In The Earth adds a novel sci-fi/horror slant to our understanding of the so-called 'wood wide web', centred on how and why mankind might attempt to commune with it. By the time the film reaches its fraught conclusion, in which Dr Wendle gamely attempts an ear-splitting 'live remix' of forest sounds amid an eruption of epilepsy-inducing strobe lighting in the manner of a demented Delia Derbyshire, you'll either be fully onboard with Wheatley's mind and biosphere-bending vision or vowing never to leave the city again. Or possibly both.
Rating: 3/5
