22/06/2023
In the Earth (2021)
My Rating: 5 out of 10
Cast:
Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires, Ellora Torchia
Directed by:
Ben Wheatley
Platform: Netflix
Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lqkfo7IymU
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Quick Plot:
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.
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Dissection:
WARNING: If you are photosensitive or have any issues in seeing constant flashing and blinking lights, please stay clear of this movie.
It felt quite weird watching this "Eco-Horror" movie that made a lot of fuzz when it was first released because of the COVID19 pandemic. It was kind of confusing and the delivery of the plot is somewhat convoluted. By slowly and carefully analyzing what was actually happening in the movie made me think, "it's good but it needs a bit of work."
The movie started slow and mainly focuses on the events happening in the country and from here, there were slight hints on what's really going on in the forest which is very easy to miss.
When the story opens up after the "Blairwitch" style scenes, there's this part that I like, really tense and somewhat gory - and again, this confused the heck out of me since there's nothing whatsoever to support these happenings.
Moving forward, the plot clears up and here is the stage where it will get more confusing (well, it's just me). It's like everything was put into a blender, then mixed altogether, then throwing it on the face of the viewers. It's kinda sad since after reading about it (after seeing it) made me realize that they relied so much on the viewers' imagination on what's happening and what's going to happen next, which in my opinion, isn't bad but putting too much of it, makes a mess of everything.
Acting is great and seeing the male protagonist act and talk made me think of a mix up of Benedict Cumberbatch and Adam Driver... lol
I think that In the Earth is a good movie that showed a lot of potential, but in totality, it's quite confusing and also can give you a huge headache if you're not ready.
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Nathan
