This might have just convinced me to start watching movie trailers again. So much of In the Earth's other promotional material was/is misleading. Things such as its "Nature is a Force of Evil" tagline, the various synopses you can find out there that say things like "as the forest comes to life around them," and even the alternative poster that sees a plant growing up into the nose of actress Ellora Torchia paint the picture of a biological nightmare akin to the Annihilation adaptation we should have gotten back in 2018. What we were actually given instead though is a cult horror flick where our protagonists get tormented by a deranged weirdo with some serious old-world religious fanatical issues, which while not terrible is nowhere near as intriguing as what it was implied to be offering. Born during the first year and out of the frustrations of our modern pandemic era, the film tells the story of a world ravaged by its own virus. It explores the effects of isolation on the human mind and the things people will be willing to latch onto no matter how illogical or untested if it comes with any sort of promise of relief from their stresses and fears. While it's cool to see something that encapsulates and plays on so many of our present day anxieties as we're still in the midst of being afflicted by them, the film's timeliness is a bit of a double-edged sword. Reportedly scripted and filmed in a mere two weeks, the project's spur-of-the-moment nature makes it simultaneously both impressive and half-baked. The science at the core of the plot shows signs of depth, but is ultimately brought down by it's lack of exposition and explanation behind character's actions. Meanwhile the hallucinogenic visuals and coarse synth soundtrack craft one heck of an atmosphere that sadly only feigns the presence of the supernatural without anything of actual terror manifesting to show for it. A somewhat unrelated complaint, but this may also be the sole time I've had to watch a movie where everyone spoke English with the subtitles on because a portion of the cast's accents were too thick to understand. Joel Fry is borderline unintelligible throughout. In the Earth deserves some praise for what writer and director Ben Wheatley was able to cook up in such a brief period. There's always something engaging to look at and listen to due to the unique stylistic flourishes. Yet, while I'm willing to admit part of my disappointment stems from what I expected to be here without having looked at any of the pre-release footage available beforehand, the final product wasn't fleshed out enough to fully engage me with what it did provide regardless. It's a compelling idea that was fast-tracked to capitalize on the legitimate day-to-day struggles we're call facing in this very moment, leaving it short off the necessary development that could have made it truly impactful and with me wishing it had been more.