In the Earth is the new slow-burn horror flick from Ben (High-Rise) Wheatley. How much of a slow burn is it? Well, I fell asleep twice before the second act. Luckily, things do pick up as the film progresses, but it’s kind of rough going there for a while.
A scientist (Joel Fry) is looking for a cure to a virus that has caused a global pandemic. A helpful forest ranger (Ellora Torchia) guides him through the woods to make sure he gets to base camp okay. On their journey, they are waylaid by a crazy man (Reece Shearsmith) who likes to drug, mutilate, and torture them. Worst of all, he makes them pose for weird photoshoots in the middle of the woods.
Since we are still in the midst of a global pandemic, it kind of irks me that many filmmakers have taken to making horror movies about a global pandemic. I’m not one of those “Too Soon!” guys or anything, but could we at least wait a bit to take stock of the situation before we exploit it to make a buck? Luckily, Wheatley doesn’t dwell on that aspect of the story for too long.
He also gives us a pretty good sequence involving an axe and a certain appendage that manages to be simultaneously unnerving, suspenseful, and quite funny. It’s a shame the damn-near insufferable first act didn’t have that same energy. Unfortunately, moments like this are the exception rather than the rule as the final act proves to be yet another sluggish affair, culminating in an artsy-fartsy Kubrick-inspired ending that doesn’t really add much to the overall story.
Fry is amusing to watch, especially when he is being threatened by the Shearsmith. The way he tries to remain calm and civilized through the hellish medical treatment that is inflicted upon him offers a solid laugh or two. Moments like these prevent In the Earth from being a total washout, but Wheatley’s overly deliberate pacing makes it something of an endurance test to get to them.
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