10 Best Recent Folk Horror Movies You Probably Missed
5. In The Earth
Seen as a bit of a modern folk horror guru, Englishman Ben Wheatley was responsible 2021’s In the Earth and it might be his best work in the genre to date.
Martin and Alma (Joel Fry and Ellora Torchia respectively) are on a quest to reach a scientific research site in the middle of a forest near Bristol. Martin thinks that the trip will be difficult because it means interacting with an ex-girlfriend called Olivia (Hayley Squires), but that awkward small talk turns out to be the least of his concerns.
Our two heroes face a full-on assault from the forest itself in many different forms, from hallucinogenic mushrooms to ancient spirits to the corrupted minds of those that dwell within. The woodland is alive both literally and figuratively and Wheatley does an amazing job in making it feel like a completely inescapable prison.
It’s an established folk horror trope to present nature as an unstoppable force and that’s exactly how it feels with In the Earth, as Martin and Alma are often completely powerless against its might.
This’ll make you twice before you go on a picnic.