In the Earth(2021)
2021 · Ben Wheatley · 107 min
As a deadly virus ravages the world, Dr. Martin Lowery embarks on a mission to reach test site ATU327A, a research hub deep in the Arboreal Forest. The arduous journey, guided by park scout Alma, is set back by a nighttime attack that leaves the two bruised and shoeless. When they run into Zach, a man living off the grid, they gratefully accept his help. Zach’s intentions aren’t exactly what they seem, however, and a path out of the forest and into safety quickly fades as the line between myth and science blurs.
Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller
5.6398 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How In the Earth scares
Watching it feels like slowly losing your grip on reality, with flashing lights, strange sounds, and a growing sense that nothing you're seeing can be fully trusted. The pace is slow and disorienting for long stretches, then suddenly jumps into brutal, painful violence that catches you off guard. It mixes cold science with old folklore and never lets you settle on which one is really in control. This is for people who like their horror strange, trippy, and unsettling rather than jumpy or fun, and who don't mind a story that stays a bit abstract.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, In the Earth rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 22 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 50 of 100 — balanced
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 72 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A calm woodland walk that slowly turns uneasy, then erupts into bursts of intense, disorienting mayhem before settling into a strange, trippy final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 5, 5, 3.
How scary is In the Earth?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, In the Earth rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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