Gaia (2021) User Reviews

Great visuals but just an okay eco horror

[Movi3DO · 6/10 · 30 July 2021]

Another indie eco-horror released this year. A bit ago I watched In the Earth, and it was one of the worst and seizure-inducing movies this year. Gaia was a significantly better tho, in both visual effects and story.

As with most eco-horror, the experience was like taking mushroom and tripping the entire time. This movie was overloaded with creative and breathtaking visual effects. I was often enthralled, especially the long scene where the main character was in a long trip. The designs and looks of the creatures in the movie was also good, although the camera was a bit shaky and unclear when they appeared.

Story-wise, it wasn't anything new. The main theme was about nature claiming back its place. The movie was also a environmental commentary on human since the Industrial Evolution. Still, there was a pretty good twist to the story, and I enjoyed it at the end. However, the story didn't always come together logically. It felt like the movie focused too much on the visuals that the it pushed the borderline over to style-over-substance.

Overall, an okay horror despite great visuals. 6/10.

Impressive practical effects, spooky imagery, so-n-so storyline

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 30 November 2021]

Gabi (Monique Rockman) is a South African forest ranger who gets injured and lost in the woods while retrieving a crashed drone. Two recluses (Carel Nel and Alex Van Dyk) take her into their cabin to recover and the rest of the film is simply her unraveling the horrific circumstances surrounding this forest and its inhabitants.

It's a smaller story for sure, fitting for its modest budget and smaller studio. But I do like what they have managed to pull off here. Especially the practical visual effects dealing with all the infectious mushrooms, spores and fungi. Very creepy-looking, very unnerving. Pitch perfect body horror in a lot of ways. Kudos for that, if nothing else.

The cinematography is also effective a lot of times. The sound design and the score were perhaps a tad overblown creepy at times. Lots of frantic strings. A bit clichéd to be honest.

I also liked the actors, although from them we get to the biggest so called problem with the film, which is simply the fact that its story is perhaps a bit... seen already. There's a creepy cabin with a couple of hermits living in it. A girl from our normal modern world gets trapped within, cannot leave. Has to survive. Something slightly supernatural starts to happen.

It's.... serviceable, but not particularly inspired.

Still, I did like it. Not the best horror film by any means, but keeping in mind its budget and other limitations, it starts to edge towards impressive. And if you're a fan of practical visual effects, especially in horror films, this film is definitely worth a watch.

fine little body horror

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 3 July 2021]

Gabi and Winston are environmentalists checking on remote wildlife cameras in the deep jungle. Gabi loses a drone to what appears to be a wild man. She goes to retrieve the drone. Instead, she finds a father, his son, and a monster of nature.

This is a fine little body horror. It starts more like a cheap Eli Roth horror. As it got more into the body, I was hoping for Cronenberg level. In the end, it's a fine indie horror that hints of something more. It touches on environmentalism, Greek tragedy, and survivalist cult but it doesn't fully satisfy. I like some of the visuals and some of the ideas. This is interesting but not all the potential gets realized.

Errrm.....The Last of Us?

[Dorveille · 3/10 · 25 June 2021]

Having seen Ben Wheatley's In the Earth recently, I was interested to see this as it explored similar themes.

As another commenter pointed out, the monsters are literally identical to those from The Last of Us video games. This film almost feels like some sort of unofficial prequel to those games, I wonder what Naughty Dog have to say about that?

I found In the Earth somewhat muddled and disappointing, and ended up feeling the same about this. The potential was there, but there just wasn't enough going on, it was very slow.

Alright, But Something Just Felt Underwhelming

[sweidman-28016 · 6/10 · 6 July 2021]

"The largest organism on the planet just right here waiting, and it's ready to spread."

Gaia encompasses an injured forest ranger on a routine mission who is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue grows more suspicious as the son and his renegade father reveal a cultish devotion to the forest. Eco-horror has become more popular over the past couple of years. It's one of those sub genres of horror that I've been ready to watch once I even hear about it, regardless if it's supposed to be good or not. Gaia had its premiere at SXSW gaining decent reviews and acclaim for its cinematography. To start off, this is a beautiful movie to look at. The shots are well thought out and mind-bending. With every eco-horror movie, there's also some body horror to go with it. The prosthetics are really cool with this. It takes fungi and makes it pretty and horrifying at the same time. There's a good amount of colors that pop out from the rest of the darkly lit screen. The sound design is also very effective. For horror movies, the technicals behind it all are crucial, and the team behind this knew what they were doing here.

What fails mostly is the structure. There are great parts throughout. The intensity is always heightened from the minute it starts. Seconds in, we're already straight into it. It's one of those movies that just starts. Part of me wanted to like the structure, but I feel like a cold open or a build up of sorts would've benefited here. The characters are thrown in and we know nothing about them. Characterization is really weak which is a shame. Once they do expand upon them, it either feels too overdone or doesn't make much sense. Getting past that, the story is decent. I was always interested in what may happen. The concept is pretty good. I'm not sure what happened though. The delivery felt underwhelming. As the movie goes, it's not bad, but it's just not that great. The delivery just doesn't work as well as it could. It could be the script or the direction, but there was a disconnect somewhere. Each aspect, though, has something good. For what it is, it's good filmmaking. Some scene are well directed, and it's especially shows through with the camera work. And the script has some thought provoking elements, more so towards the end. I don't know. I wanted more out of Gaia by the end. It plays out in a way you'd think it would. If you are to watch it, watch it for the camera work and prosthetics because they are the true screen stealer.

Good idea, bad execution

[nublingnoob · 5/10 · 27 June 2021]

This film could of been great, it had a great idea, good effects, just not alot happened, a few to many 'dream like' scenes that went on for to long, i feel like they tried to hard to not be a standard, lost in the woods/creature horror film.

Its obviously good to try something diffrent but i think this film would of been better if it just embraced what it was.

Fascinating

[suzannejacobs-1 · 7/10 · 28 June 2021]

I found comparisons with the movie Annihilation. I enjoyed for my part-my husband fell asleep.

GAIA: The Poor Man's Last of Us

[homesickalien81 · 4/10 · 26 June 2021]

I wanted to like this, I really did. It's not unwatchable but it is extremely underwhelming and unoriginal. They blatantly rip off the monsters from the video game Last of Us (they look and sound EXACTLY the same). And the characters are just so boring with no depth, I felt nothing for them, so I ultimately didn't care what happened to them. And I know this was a low budget film but the special effects were pretty awful.

Again, you could watch worse but why waste your time on mediocre?

Very Good

[atractiveeyes · 7/10 · 28 June 2021]

This is a beautifully weird and crazy, artsy and well crafted horror indie. It has an interesting idea and implies a beautiful message that we've already seen before. The score is intense and beautiful. Cinematography is awesome. It's not scary but it definitely has a disturbing atmosphere. Gaia is very good but it's not for everyone.

If You Go Down to the Woods Today...

[Xstal · 4/10 · 25 June 2021]

...beware of those exhibiting tendencies associated with excessive consumption of Psilocybin or you may find yourself drawn into a mycelium world of animated mould, mushrooms, fungi and toadstools! There are better examples of the apocalypse that awaits.

Terrifying terrific

[searchanddestroy-1 · 9/10 · 22 January 2022]

I am not used to this kind of stuff, but I think that I am smart enough to understand that this film is purely exceptional, a movie that makes you think about the link between the human kind, modern world, and nature, even more than the link, but the relationship, and thru a science fiction story. It is emotional thrilling, scary, with an awesome photography and also camera work, and I even don't insist on the sound, eerie atmosphere.

Weird but worth a watch.

[deloudelouvain · 6/10 · 4 September 2021]

Gaia is a weird movie. Weird but not bad. The story is easy to follow, and contains some strange creatures what gives it a little horror effect. Of course it's all fantasy, nothing to take too seriously and that's how you should watch it, with an open mind. It's a very small cast and overal they did a good job. I can't say I watched a lot of good movies from South-Africa but Gaia is certainly worth a watch. The cinematography wasn't bad at all. The languages are mostly English, but sometimes there is a little Afrikaans, which is for me who speak Dutch a nice and strange thing to hear. Strange like the whole story.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

[Leungzy · 1/10 · 25 June 2021]

Within the first 20 mins a character drops a walkie talkie into water on a boat during a scene that's supposed to be suspenseful and I knew from that point on that this was probably going to be a poorly scripted.

If you are in any way familiar with The Last of Us video game, you will notice the monster designs are a carbon copy of the infected people in the game - they become infected through fungus spores, are blind, look the exact same with fungus coming out of their heads and bodies and even make the same clicking noise as the clickers.

The relationship between the main character and the son was just total nonsense, they only knew each other a few days at most, barely spoke and she was already asking to bring him back to the city.

At one point she even comments how he's very intelligent when up to this point he hasn't shown any intelligence and has barely spoken a word. At every moment that the story advanced between the main character and him, I was either rolling my eyes or face palming.

Overall the movie is painfully slow, certain events happen where a normal person would have been terrified or would have questioned the events, but the characters in this act nonchalant as if it's all normal. This is easily one of the worst movies if not the worst movie I've seen in the last year, I can't find any positive things to say about it.

Lots of squandered potential...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 29 December 2021]

When I sat down to watch the 2021 movie "Gaia" from writer Tertius Kapp and director Jaco Bouwer, I had never even heard about the movie. I must say, though, that the movie's cover/poster definitely caught my attention right away. And when I read the synopsis, it sounded like a movie that could be interesting.

However, the narrative in "Gaia" is slow, incredibly slow. So this movie is not something that will find an appeal with just the average movie viewer, as it is somewhat of an acquired taste. Sure, the movie was watchable, but the pacing of the storyline was just too mundane and slow, and with the lack of interesting things in the movie, then it was somewhat of a drag to sit through.

I managed to sit through the entire movie, mostly because of the performance put on by Monique Rockman. Now, this was the first time I have ever seen her, but she definitely carried the movie well enough. Just a shame, really, that the movie didn't offer us viewers all that much.

Visually then "Gaia" was interesting, and I will say that the visuals definitely carried the movie a great long way, especially since the storyline and pacing of the movie was bland.

All in all, "Gaia" is not a movie that I would recommend you rush out to get to watch. It just wasn't all that interesting. And I can honestly say, now that I have watched the movie, this is not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.

My rating of "Gaia" lands on a generous three out of ten stars. I wanted to rate it four, but the mind-numbingly slow pacing of the storyline just held the movie back.

Not as bad as a lot of reviewers said it was.

[midnitepantera · 6/10 · 29 June 2021]

I'm not familiar with the video game so many referred to, so I liked the special effects for the monsters. It was very slow, so that was a negative. The main actress is obviously a new face, but I thought she did a great job and she is very beautiful. I loved the claustrophobic feeling from the ratio used in the cinematography. That forest is beautiful, but I DON'T have any urge to go traipsing thru it. LOL I found the main character to be quite selfish to the cost of others. Overall if you have patience, I think it's worth a 1 time watch. ;D.

Tripe Mushroom head Movie

[svader · 1/10 · 25 June 2021]

What is this rubbish trying to be?

Terrible storyline. No care for any of the caharacters what so ever.

Slow as in snails pace. Just when you think something interesting is happening the main protagonist awakes and it is yet another one of her daft dreams.

Give this one a wide birth.

well

[zombie84-1 · 7/10 · 28 June 2021]

That was different and poetic. Yeah its similar to last of us. Yes its slow, but it doesnt make it any less beautiful. Idk what it all means or if there is a deeper meaning but what i came out with is the tree is life, and we are the virus.

Watch the movie Annihilation

[FeastMode · 4/10 · 16 January 2022]

This movie starts off very intriguing with some great shots and immediate atmosphere. It has a really cool idea. But in the end it doesn't amount to anything other than an unsatisfied feeling.

On top of that, the best part about this movie (the idea) is straight-up stolen from the movie Annihilation. If you haven't seen it, watch it. It's amazing. And the idea that this movie steals is only one aspect of a much more intriguing and well-made movie. (1 viewing, 1/15/2022)

TERRA TERROR

[js-66130 · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

Turning the tables on the royal we destroying Earth, "Gaia" is a revenge fantasy where humankind gets a whiff of life as an endangered species. Sadly this is our inevitable fate, but here mother earth takes on a more pro active role. Our demise is a bizarre reforestation of sorts.

A pair of park rangers, with well meaning pro environment aspirations, trek into thick jungle waters with dire results. Of course. You can enter, but leaving is another matter. Mother Nature, in the form of a far reaching, breathing, growing, vengeful fungi comes alive at night. Plumes of spores infecting and reproducing with heaving pulses. Thick with atmosphere. Alluring cinematography. Stunning vistas. This is one succulent movie.

A couple of totally off the grid subjects (father and son) are already on board, providing much needed thread from the stunned rangers to the psychedelic goings on in this magical mushroom kingdom. What is real and what is not, is not so clear, creating a frustrating mystery aspect to the dreamy passages. It is beautiful, lush, creative and unsettling. Unfortunately the trippy trip is eventually dissected by some all too physical confrontations, steering the film into standard eco-horror fare.

Barend, the caveman like survivalist father who favours the most inappropriate of tree hugging, dresses like a caveman, owns a weird combination of encyclopedic knowledge, alchemy expertise, and a penchant for culty religious hogwash, is the most entertaining character running around the forest, yet his background and transformation from civilization are never duly explored.

What is clear is that slowly but surely, the creeping, growing organism that lies underfoot is a force of uh, nature, and there will be mayhem. Can't decide whether it is a thought-provoking cautionary tale (don't mess with nature) or slick monster flick (nature messes with you). Either way it does get messy. Pretty and messy. Pretty Messy.

An interesting and stylish take on infections, and all matters natural that we can't quite control, "Gaia" could have been quite powerful if handled with more restraint. Still worth a look though.

• hipCRANK.

Relies on stupidity

[and-46245 · 1/10 · 12 June 2022]

The first thing the park ranger character does is NOT alerting their park ranger friend of how they just saw a half-naked man with their drone in a forest where there shouldn't be any people, especially not people that are half-naked and covered in dirt.

She mentions it in the passing to her friend, who blatantly ignores what he just freaking said. She then becomes the one that ignores all common sense and reason, dismounting from their little kayak ON HER OWN in the forest where, in her friends words: PEOPLE GET LOST.

This staggering idiocy is of course required for the movie to take off, but it's also what makes me turn it off.

Back to the roots

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 30 June 2021]

One of my better summary lines you say? I would like to believe so too ... then again I am a bit biased, am I not? But back to the movie at hand - a really good one, if you like horror that creeps up on you. While I have issues with many things that our main character does, she actually behaves in a way that someone else is saying to her ("Danger? Where? Let me go check it out" - I think that is the exact quote but I may be paraphrasing a little).

Well done with an ending that I reckon is trying to tell us something ... yes I know exactly what it is trying to say ... and I wonder if that was a wicked plan ... quite elaborate if you think about it ... or was it "pure luck"? Well whatever the case is, you can tell that this was also a bit of reality being stranger than fiction and maybe even influencing it a little ...

"She was here long before the apes started dreaming of gods"

[gedikreverdi · 6/10 · 5 July 2021]

Forestry workers got lost in the forest and the woman ended up taking refuge at a cabin where a father and a son lived. They were worshipping the fungi that fed on humans eating up their flesh. His wife was dead and became a part of a tree and he was leaving meat there and praying in front of a hole in the trunk of a large tree. The male worker was already covered in fungi and they helped him kill himself. After seeing that she convinced her son of going to the city, he took him back and wanted to sacrifice because he's too willing to live in the world. She injured him and took his young son to the cabin where she became one of them and covered fully in fungi and he gave his knife to her so that she could kill herself before becoming one of those fungi-predator. Then the son left for the city as she wanted. He ate fast food in the city and his leftovers was already covered in fungi. It was obviously a slow burn but a different and interesting one. I wish they showed more of those fungi-men so it could be a lot scarier than this. They weren't able to see after they transformed and they avoided them pretty easily every time. And the father was a hysterical believer, almost a pagan bigot. He would express himself calmly how doomed our modern world is and his righteousness.

Pathetic. Wasted my time watching stupidity

[Neptune165 · 3/10 · 30 September 2021]

This is a great movie as an alternative for sleeping pills. I still don't understand the plot of this movie. Great cinematography,loved hearing Afrikaans language too. Movie was BEAUTIFULLY shot, started strong, and went nowhere. Slowly. Don't waste your time, this is absolute trash and makes no sense, I keep hoping a movie will finally be good only to be let down time and time again. This movie was literally a prequel to The Last Of Us. Like 100% could be an origin story for the fungus and how it spread throughout the world before Joel and Ellie's story began. Not really that scary.

All the reviews mention Last Of Us...

[SJLiam · 3/10 · 27 June 2021]

... for a reason. This movie quite literally feels like a poorly written Last Of Us fan fiction prequel, right down to the noise these things make. If it were a better film, I might say it was an homage. But in this film, you know it's just a rip-off.

I also love the fact that we start the film with one character actually saying how the two persons of color are going to be "Better than those stupid white people" and then proceeds to maker the exact same stupid moves the "stupid white people" do in every. Single. Horror film. EVER. Split up? Check. Wreck the one way to communicate with each other? Check. Destroy the only means of contacting the outside world? Yep. It's all there, every beat exactly as you expect it. The only thing that feels off is the complete lack of horror in this horror movie. A few scenes of light body horror, a little blood and a couple of Clickers (the mushroom zombies from Last Of Us). That's pretty much it.

They do throw in a scene that's the director trying his hand at Altered States. So there is that. But at the end of the runtime, the only thing I was left with was a sense of wishing I had watched something else. I had heard good things from a couple of friends, but I think I'm going to have to have a conversation with them about what a good horror movie looks like. And I'm so sorry, but this is just not it. Predictable, derivative, and just didn't have any emotional impact.

Folk Horror take from South Africa

[parkerbcn · 7/10 · 23 July 2021]

An indie arty horror, with impressive forest locations and some good background mythology. It plays a little like a poor man's "Annihilation" or a familiar of "In the Earth", in a kind of folk horror take from South Africa. Interesting.