While doing press for his Netflix film REBECCA last month, director Ben Wheatley revealed that he had made a horror film during the pandemic lockdown, shooting it "in 15 spare days back in August", working from a script he wrote "just to keep [his] head together" during the pandemic. Now it has been announced that the film is titled IN THE EARTH, and Neon is planning to give it a theatrical release in the U.S. sometime in 2021.
Neon also financed IN THE EARTH, and produced it alongside Wheatley and his Rook Films partner Andy Starke. Tom Quinn and Jeff Deutchman executive produced for Neon.
Starring Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, and Reece Shearsmith, the film has the following synopsis:
As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them.
Protagonist is handling foreign sales, presenting the film to potential buyers at the American Film Market, where they will also be showing off some exclusive footage.
Anything Wheatley does has my attention, and I look forward to seeing what he was able to do with this film during lockdown.