Sundance 2021: 20 Films You Need To Know About
17. In The Earth
Shot over 15 days last August, Ben Wheatley's new horror film In the Earth makes no attempt to downplay its allusions to the COVID-19 pandemic, though also isn't proximate enough to feel like a distasteful cash-in.
A hypnotic, hallucinogenic disaster film of a different kind, it focuses on a scientist's (Joel Fry) journey through a forest to reach a research site, a forest which contains numerous bizarre sights and unexpected dangers.
To say more than that would be criminal, but Wheatley's film is an extremely impressive achievement, especially considering the fast turnaround: visually mesmerising, brilliantly acted, and provocatively odd. Think of it as his take on Annihilation.
In the Earth will be distributed by Neon.