January 17, 2022 – I am not well suited for judging this movie, given that I don't care for horror movies in general and I just can't stand looking at scenes where people are cut open, where needles, hooks, knives or other instruments of pain are inserted into bloody flesh, and similar kinds of cutting, stabbing and gore. There are parts of this movie I simply could not watch.

I'll tell you about the parts of the movie I could watch. It has to do with fungus-based research in a kind of forest preserve related to a worldwide pandemic. This movie is obviously inspired by the Covid pandemic, and it is designed to be filmed during the pandemic. Except for a few scenes early on, most of this film was shot outdoors, which makes the production less likely to be negatively affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Researcher Martin Lowery (played by Joel Fry of “Yesterday” and park ranger Alma (Ellora Torchia of “Midsommar”) begin a two-day hike to the camp of fellow researcher Olivia Wendle (Hayley Squires) in a forested area near Bristol, England. It ends up taking longer than two days to get there after the two are attacked and imprisoned by a crazed man, Zach (Reece Shearsmith of “High-Rise”).

Zach seems to be a kind of modern day Druid who sets traps for people in the forest, lures them to his camp and then holds them captive while he performs primitive surgical procedures on them. He talks about a kind of forest spirit that requires human sacrifices of some kind. He also is aware of Olivia Wendle's research at her nearby camp and claims that she is on the wrong track with her research.

Martin and Alma eventually escape and make their way to Olivia's camp, where they discover that Olivia is just as crazy as Zach is, in her own way. Olivia is supposed to be doing scientific research, which she is, but she is also involved in some pagan rituals she found in an old book. Alma suspects that Olivia and Zach are working together in some way.

It turns out there are unexpected personal connections between Zach, Olivia and Martin that complicate the situation they all find themselves in. A lot of the pagan mumbo jumbo in the story centers around a standing stone that appears to have been placed in the forest in ancient times. Both Olivia and Zach seem to think that the stone is the center of whatever is going on in this part of the forest.

The scientific part of the story has to do with Olivia's attempts to communicate with local fungi using sound and light. The fungi, centered on the standing stone, casts a wide ring of influence in the surrounding forests, in a symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi called mycorrhiza. This symbiotic entanglement extends for miles, but Olivia thinks it extends over the entire world, because all life is connected.

This, of course, raises the notion of that the worldwide viral pandemic is a kind of immune response of plants and animals to the “infestation” of human life. The whole idea of man against nature, and the idea that certain cultures are better at living in harmony with nature is hinted at in this story. If you are looking for a clear exposition of such questions, however, you'll have to look elsewhere.

The idea of communicating with plants and animals, while living in harmony with nature (as opposed to exploiting and destroying nature) was previously explored in “Avatar” (2009). This movie has some of the same themes, but is more along the lines of a horror film than a science fiction film, although it clearly has elements of both.

The film's final conflict and conclusion is somewhat ambiguous. Some people like that sort of thing. I am not a fan. I assume that horror film fans will like this, on the further assumption such fans have a higher tolerance for the kinds of blood and gore than I do. Based on such horror film standards alone, this film rates a C+.

I've only seen one other film directed by Ben Wheatley, (2015) which I did like better than this one. It is “High-Rise” (2015) a dystopian movie about the breakdown of civilization. This movie, “In the Earth,” bears some similarities to “High-Rise,” but in a very different setting, and with only three main characters in isolation. One other difference of note between the two is that “In the Earth” is both written and directed by Wheatley, while he did not write the screenplay for “High-Rise.”

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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