Written on the first day of the UK’s initial lockdown, In the Earth is a 2021 British virus-themed horror film with micro-budget trippy. As a disastrous virus grips the planet, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness as the forest comes to life around them.

Some of the reviews below:

“Derivative as it may be at times (it’s absolutely a pastiche of its genre forebears), there’s a vagabond charm to getting away with filming a neat little thriller like this in quarantine […] While the results don’t quite tap into our psychological anxieties about the pandemic, there’s something to the idea that the earth is rebelling against us, and that we need to either adapt or die.” Awards Watch

“In the Earth is filled with many WTF moments that had me baffled yet needing more. The film is very disorienting and had me lost on several occasions and that’s what made it so engaging. Definitely a tad too long but this is a return to form for Ben Wheatley!” Charlie McGivern

” …the story has too little consistent logic and the characters too little depth to provide a hook. Instead, it becomes a numbing bore, teasing the viewer by withholding details as to whether the menace is supernatural or human in the form of off-the-grid nutjobs, to the point where you no longer care.” The Hollywood Reporter

” …Ben Wheatley’s film is surrounded by an eerie, mysterious environment that simply fails to transmit anything slightly captivating or significant to the audience. Its slow pacing and ambiguous development leave tons of questions unanswered, but it’s the lack of emotional investment in both the story and the characters that ultimately damage the movie.” MSB Reviews

“Wheatley and his collaborators have produced something that some of us thought would be impossible: an outrageously entertaining film that feels utterly rooted in the bleak era in which it was made. Lockdown project or not, it’s a milestone.” The Telegraph

背景：

本·维特利，英国导演、编剧、演员、制片人。1972年出生于英国埃塞克斯郡比勒里基。从拍摄短片出生，1998年在影片《萝西与苹果酒》中担任角色，2007年开始担任导演，拍摄了电视系列剧《Comedy: Shuffle》，主要作品有：《罪恶之家》（2009）、《杀戮名单》（2011）、《26种死法》（2012）。

得奖记录：

2016年 第19届英国独立电影奖 最佳导演(提名) 走火交易

2015年 第63届圣塞巴斯蒂安国际电影节 金贝壳奖(提名) 摩天大楼

2013年 第48届卡罗维发利国际电影节 水晶地球仪奖 评委会特别奖 腐国恶土