In The Earth (2021) - Ben Wheatley

​Eco-horror in which the visual poetry displayed largely overcomes the conceptual typicality, In The Earth is one of Wheatley's more enticing films in recent years which I suppose isn't a particularly high bar to clear. In its best moments, In The Earth reminded me a bit of Peter Strickland's oeuvre, deploying avant-garde aesthetic designs that ultimately titillate the senses while heightening the film's mystery, intrigue, and mystical qualities. There are some pretty great visuals throughout this film, and at its best, the film does manage a sense of transcendence through imagery. I appreciate the grit this film brings to its gore, the pain and damage to the body are felt as much as it is shown, and the film's simplicity in many ways does work in its favor, but ultimately any type of thematical relevance it seems to be striving for feels largely like a missed opportunity. There is an interesting subtext of this story rooted in the ideas we as sentient beings construct to find a place of solace from the unknown, yet In The Earth never really manages to investigate this in any meaningful way. It ultimately feels satisfied with its own cleverness and narrative intrigue, being spawned during the pandemic but ultimately delivering an entertaining enough but far from a revelatory horror film.