News

Of all the cautionary lessons that horror imparts, one of the most common warns us never to mess with Mother Nature. Those who are careless or hostile to the environment often meet their demises when Earth retaliates violently in eco-horror movies.

Ecological horror movies explore humankind’s estranged, fractured relationship with the planet, and its characters often find themselves on the defense against nature’s wrath. In celebration of Earth Day, an annual event in support of environmental protection, we’re looking back at some of the best eco-horror movies that remind us to take care of our planet… or else.

Here are ten eco-horror movies to watch this Earth Day.

The Bay

This found footage movie sees a seaside town under siege from an unknown virulent threat. First comes a gnarly rash, then vomiting, then a violent, disturbing death. Eventually, researchers discover it’s a parasitic ocean isopod that...

Stars: Nicole Fortuin, Jane de Wet, Carel Nel, Tristan de Beer, Lida Botha, Roberto Kyle, David Viviers, Shalima Mkongi, Sihle Mnqwazana, Emma Kotze | Written by Tertius Kapp | Directed by Jaco Bouwer

When a group of friends embark on their dream coastal break to attend the ultimate rave in an off-grid town, they get a fear-filled awakening as their night of raging becomes their worst nightmare… As their experiences become weirder and weirder, they release that they’ve been drugged and dragged into a dark, shocking, deadly ritual.

Following his 2021 eco-horror, Gaia, director Jaco Bouwer crafts his latest horror flick in a small coastal village. Holidaying there are a group of teenagers on their gap year, staying at a local house as they celebrate by partying to excess. As they disregard a warning to leave, the group are soon picked off one by one.

As they joyfully party to celebrate their freedom from school,...

Last week, Hulu welcomed its latest film into its annual Huluween catalog—the eco-thriller Gaia, which was directed by Jaco Bouwer and stars Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex van Dyk, and Anthony Oseyemi. The film is streaming exclusively as part of the Huluween slate—a month-long experience that features original and acquired programming in one curated Halloween-themed hub. Daily Dead recently caught up with Bouwer to talk about Gaia, and he discussed everything from collaborating with the film’s screenwriter Tertius Kapp on the concepts behind the story, the challenges of shooting in the South African forests, and more.

So, how did Gaia first come about?

Jaco Bouwer: The writer, and my longtime collaborator, Tertius Kapp, and myself set some parameters that defined the foundation of the project: we wanted to explore the horror genre, nature being the main location and character; essentially a chamber piece of three characters. When we started working on Gaia,...

Stars: Monique Rockman, Alex Van Dyk, Carel Nel, Anthony Oseyemi | Written by Tertius Kapp | Directed by Jaco Bouwer

Perhaps the best horror films come from tried and tested formulas but with an added twist. In Gaia we find a woman injured and lost in a forest. In horror , that’s nothing unusual but this movie adds plenty of new ideas and manages to feel like something completely different.

This woman, Gabi (Monique Rockman), is on a surveillance mission in a forest. She loses her partner and becomes badly injured only to be ‘saved’ by a father and son, a couple of survivalists living in the forest and very connected to nature. She is scared but soon realises they might not be the only problem when the cabin they are living in is attacked by strange human-like creatures.

With the movie almost entirely set in the forest, it’s a good...

Fungus Among Us: Bouwer Delivers Eco-Horror Slow Burn

Ecological horror films have taken on a somewhat lusty, unprecedented gravity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the reality of which hampered the production of Gaia from South Africa’s Jaco Bouwer. As its title indicates, a theological/mythological component also defines this quietly administered tale of Mother Earth in rebellion, encroaching back upon humankind’s plundering of her resources through a creative use of something already found in nature, a fungus which takes ownership of its hosts and turns them into, well, creatures.

While the narrative hits a monotonous stretch begging for several beats or moments to be condensed, Bouwer and scribe Tertius Kapp offer a compelling quartet of characters forced to contend with their contemporary heart of darkness.…...

Mankind doesn’t follow God because He’s compassionate. Anyone who’s looked through history at the death and destruction wrought in His name should know this all too well. Man follows Him out of fear—a fear so deeply rooted in our DNA that we cling to a fantasy instead of admitting its crippling hold. Because what’s God really saving us from during the rapture? Evil? Science? Ourselves? If we’re to believe God created everything, the only logical answer as to the orchestrator of our demise is Him. Abraham passed God’s test after proving he’d kill his son Isaac. He was granted leniency because he accepted that God’s grace only existed as the carrot opposite His wrath’s stick. Believers are thus nothing more than pawns. Lambs to their savior’s slaughter.

Who wants to confront that truth? Nobody. You either embrace the notion...

Mother Nature might be predator, prey or another supernatural being altogether in “Gaia,” infiltrating her targets with unfurling shoots and roots and sudden fungal outcrops, until she’s eventually growing from within them. Or so it seems in first-time feature director Jaco Bouwer’s cool, taciturn ecological horror, which isn’t in any kind of hurry to show us exactly what dark forces are at play in the woods that encircle a tensely matched trio of human characters. We do, however, see their effects, manifested as the film’s own. In an elegant fusion of digital and prosthetic artistry, patches of moss burst through skin like a nasty rash; human flesh is aggressively and involuntarily camouflaged by flora. “Gaia’s” resourceful visuals, however, aren’t matched by equivalent nimbleness in the writing; after a time, the storytelling feels more anemic than enigmatic.

Still, it’s not hard to see what...

Gaia: Following its world premiere at the virtual 2021 SXSW film festival, Jaco Bouwer's Gaia is coming to theaters on June 18th and On Demand on June 25th from Decal Releasing, and we have a look at the film's official trailer.

Directed by Bouwer from a screenplay by Tertius Kapp, Gaia stars Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Anthony Oseyemi, and Alex Van Dyk.

Synopsis: "An injured forest ranger on a routine mission 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. When their cabin is attacked by a strange being it’s clear there is a far greater threat in this unrelenting wilderness."



---------

Apparel Collection from The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It: "A limited-edition apparel collection from “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” is now available on Warner Bros.

Gaia Decal will release Gaia in theaters June 18th, 2021 and on demand June 25th, 2021 Directed by Jaco Bouwer Written by Tertius Kapp Starring Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Anthony Oseyemi, Alex van Dyk An injured forest ranger on a routine mission is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue grows …

The post Gaia Decal will release Gaia in theaters June 18th, 2021 appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

With shades of Annihilation, The Last Of Us, and The Ruins, Jaco Bouwer‘s Gaia is a welcome addition to the environmental horror canon. South Africa’s Tsitsikamma forest stages a warning from our universe’s mother; a scolding finger pointed towards humankind’s treatment of Earth. When Gaia bleeds, Gaia gets pissed. Tertius Kapp’s screenplay is contemplative horror […]

The post ‘Gaia’ Review: A Skin-Crawling Blend of Environmental Fable and Creature Feature [SXSW 2021] appeared first on /Film.

World premiering at this year's virtual South by Southwest Film Festival as an official Midnighters selection, Jaco Bouwer's Gaia is teased in a new trailer ahead of its debut screening.

Directed by Bouwer, written and produced by Tertius Kapp, and starring Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Anthony Oseyemi, and Alex Van Dyk, Gaia will have its world premiere at the virtual SXSW on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00pm Cst.

Synopsis: "On a surveillance mission in a primordial forest, a park ranger encounters two survivalists following a post-apocalyptic lifestyle. The boy and his philosophical father seem to have their own religion, and a mysterious relationship to nature. There are many suspicious aspects to their existence, but when the cabin is attacked by strange, post-human beings one night, she learns that there is a greater threat in this emergent wilderness. Gaia is an ecological horror fantasy which engages the burning issues of our time.

Exclusive: Decal, the newly formed home entertainment distributor from Neon and Bleecker Street, has secured the North American rights to Gaia, a South African horror-thriller directed by Jaco Bouwer. The pic, which is set to debut in the Midnight section of the upcoming virtual SXSW this month, is slated for a theatrical release this Summer.

Starring Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Anthony Oseyemi, and Alex Van Dyk, the plot follows a park ranger on a surveillance mission in a primordial forest who encounters two survivalists living a post-apocalyptic lifestyle. The boy and his philosophical father seem to have their own religion and a mysterious relationship to nature.

Tertius Kapp wrote the screenplay and produced the film with Bouwer and Jorrie van der Walt.

Ayo Kepher-Maat negotiated the deal for Decal along with Nate Bolotin from XYZ Films on behalf of filmmakers. XYZ is handling worldwide rights outside of South Africa.

Launched earlier this year,...