Eco-horror seems to be a hot ticket sub-genre this year. Ben Wheatley did it with In the Earth, Welsh movie The Feast also tackled the topic, and now comes South Africa’s offering, Gaia. Beginning with a sneaky Evil Dead upside down sky drone shot from above the trees, the film joins two park rangers, Gabi (Monique Rockman) and Winston (Anthony Oseyemi), on a routine check of their observational cameras. An accident leaves the two separated, and Gabi is found by a father and son team of survivalists and taken away to be looked after. Once in the survivalist’s lodgings, Gabi realises that the pair are a little odd, with father Barend (Carel Nel) talking about ‘changed people’ living in the woods. Then night falls and Gabi witnesses the horrors lurking in the jungle for herself and begins a plot to get herself out alive.
If modern day films are to be believed, funghi has become the new danger for us humans. We’ve seen many movies over the last few years that place mushrooms as the foe of the piece. Gaia is the latest one, where the spores from a unique species of funghi having evolved to target mankind for its host. Cut to lots of body horror sequences where Gabi must stop growths that spurt out of her arms and legs. They are distressing moments that pack a punch, but there remains an inexplicable disconnect that blocks the formation of a solid relationship with Gabi.
Narratively, there isn’t enough story to sustain viewer attention for the duration, the microcosm of our core three characters doesn’t lead to as much drama and tension as it could. There is some great interplay between Gabi and the two men, but it occasionally feels like they are not pushing it enough. All three are interesting characters, but none are stretched enough to encourage true investment. Barend is somewhat of a religious zealot who has started worshipping the deadly funghi, his son Stefan (Alex van Dyk) is left emotionally and literally isolated, and despite his clear older age, has become stuck at the child stage of development. Gabi is the trickiest character to pin down with us knowing little about her until she gets injured and her interactions with both men gets a little confused. The dynamic between Gabi and Stefan is particularly weird as it fluidly moves between maternal to potentially romantic and back again several times over the course of the film, making it part Oedipal, part Blue Lagoon.
Told at a sedentary pace, Gaia fills its screen time with images of lush vegetation, hammering home the remoteness of the location. The cinematography is breathtaking, Jorrie van der Walt capturing some amazing imagery. This camerawork is embellished with some incredible VFX work that adds an eerie threat to the serenity of the environment. Several moments are pretty as a picture, one involving an almost monochromic shot of a character with only the flora and flora allowed to show any colour. As stunning as the VFX work is there is a massive issue with the infected; they are incredibly derivative of the design of the Clicker creatures in the game series The Last of Us. Not only do they look identical, but the sound they make and how they move also appears lifted straight out of the game. They look adequately creepy and frightening, but being so much like something else that is far more well known detracts from the hard work that has gone into their creation. It’s not a resemblance that only fans of the games will notice as even those who have merely seen a trailer for the game will instantly recognise the style.
It’s clear that the eco horror format isn’t going anywhere, and whilst Gaia brings some interesting ideas to the table, it’s slow pace, muddled relationships, and unfortunate choice of creature design make for a slightly lacklustre affair.
Gaia
Summary
Some stunning cinematography and VFX work attempt to lift Gaia to a higher plane, but pacing and plot issues leave it stuck on the ground.
Gaia was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2021. Watch Gaia on Altitude.film and other digital platforms from 27 September.
