In the Earth Ending Explained [SPOILER!]

SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!

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.

SPOILERS AHEAD

In the Earth Video Summary

In the Earth Plot Summary and Synopsis

The movie takes place in a world fighting a pandemic. It starts with Dr. Martin Lowery (Joel Fry), a scientist studying crops, who spent the last four months in isolation.

He arrives at a remote ranger station in the woods, where he is sprayed down and sanitized before being allowed to enter. The reason he decided to study crops in the forest is because of unusually fertile soil.

He meets park ranger Alma (Ellora Torchia) who is assigned as his guide through his quest to locate Lowery’s colleague Dr. Olivia Wendle (Hayley Squires). Dr. Wendle works on crop yield research and is not in contact for several months at least.

Alma tells Martin a local folktale about an ancient spirit of the woods Parnag Fegg.

Martin is shown to write a diary.

The next morning, they head to Dr. Wendle’s research site, which is located in two days of walking. On their course, they find an abandoned camp with child drawings and toys, which was left in a hurry. Someone unknown is watching Martin and Alma from the woods.

They are assaulted and heavily beaten in the night. Martin regains conciseness in the morning and finds out their radio is broken, their shoes are stolen, but Alma is alive. They continue their journey, but Martin hurts his foot very badly.

Alma noticed someone is watching them, and that there are no animals around. They meet Zach (Reece Shearsmith), who lives in the forest illegally. Despite this, he is aware of the pandemic and proposes to keep a safe distance. He also says that he was attacked last night as well.

Martin’s wound became nasty and Zach stitches it with a fishing hook. He gives them some porridge and elderflower tea. Then he starts to play the guitar, singing that they need to sleep. Both Martin and Alma faint out quickly.

Zack dresses them in white clothes, puts a bit of something on their eyes, and makes multiple pictures of them.

Alma asks to let them go after they regain conciseness, but Zach says he can’t do that yet. He shows the creepy pictures he made and tells them that they need to praise “Him”, meaning the spirit of the woods.

Zach continues to give them the sleeping drug and they continue to bounce in and out of the dream. He implants something in Martin’s arm and carves unknown symbols in it.

Zach chops off Martin’s toes “due to infection”. Then he takes Martin for another “photo session” as an offering to the spirit. Meanwhile, Alma grabs the blade Zach accidentally dropped and releases herself, then Martin. Zach goes after them with an ax but later equips a bow. Martin finds the dead body of an unknown person.

They are saved by Olivia Wendle, who’s been conveniently doing her research in exactly this part of the forest. She burns Martin’s wound to stop the infection and explains that Zach is her ex-husband.

Olivia is sure that plants are alive and can communicate with themselves and humans. She explains that her research stalled until she found a stone and a book written in 1640, which has the story about the forest.

She explains that she equipped the area with lights and speakers to that to use sound and light to communicate with the forest. It replies back as trees and roots make a sound on a certain frequency. Zach was initially helping her in her research, but then saw something which gravely terrified and changed him, apparently hurting his mind as well.

It is revealed Martin had a relationship with Olivia, but she never told him she was married. The only reason he volunteered for the search mission was to see her again.

Alma goes into the weird mist of unknown nature to study it. She suddenly starts to cry, and Martin with Olivia drag her back.

They decide to proceed with the experiment to try and communicate with the forest spirit. They decide to do this at the night. Zach shows up and punches Alma, then goes to Martin. He explains that Martin’s death will allow them to speak to Him.

Alma goes back to camp and enters the “sterile” zone, which Olivia didn’t allow to go in earlier. There are pictures of different people on the walls. Olivia turns out to be as bonkers as her husband and tries to kill Alma. Zach goes to help her, but Alma kills him.

Olivia tries to finish the ritual by killing Martin, but Alma stops her. The forest spirit talks to Olivia, she falls and thanks the spirit.

The Ending

The movie ends as Alma approaches Martin and offers to guide him out of the woods.

The Ending Explained

There is virtually no indication of whether protagonists got out safely out of the woods. They both lived, but the main villain (Dr. Olivia Wendle) is never shown as irrevocably dead. There is no explanation of the psychedelic visions and their meaning as well: who causes them, are they for good, or not, nothing. No explanation of all the dead people and the purpose of making and keeping their pictures too. There is a good chance that after all the protagonists had been through, they may stay in the woods to replace a maniac couple of mad scientists to take their turn in massacring the next party of unexpecting volunteers or campers.

Cooncel Rating

Source: © Cooncel.com.