Gaia Review

A good poster always gets me. "Gaia" has a very cool poster, and it immediately drew me in to watch it. This is a South African horror movie, and it has a lot going for it. The premise is simple, and starts with a couple of park rangers that get their drone broken in the forest. One of them goes out to get it, and the other stays back. Simple start to a story, right? Well, things go off the rails when they encounter a couple of locals, and we have to figure out if they are friend or foe. 

While the horror of getting trapped by locals is definitely a horror film on its own, this one doesn't rely on that, as there's monsters afoot. These monsters are blind, and are ecologically based. I know that ruins it for some, but it's part of the bigger picture found in this movie. As the movie progresses there is an ecological bent to it. The ecological aspect of it really plays with the mind, and you start to second guess what is going on. 

Overall, there's only a few actors in this movie. There's just four overall, and the majority of the horror comes from the unknown, the monsters, and whether or not one can trust the locals. There's also a cabin in the woods, so there's that aspect too. The horror is trumpeted at times with traps, monsters, and of course an ecological twist that I won't reveal here. 

The pacing leaves something to be desired. There are no jump scares, there's not a lot to speak of in terms of traditional modern horror, but that is not a bad thing. The slow burn movement of this film leads to some shocking moments, and some clever plot pieces, only to finish off with an interesting premise. There were moments that I swore I had it figured out, but then the movie takes a turn for something else. It never strays too far from ecological horror at times, and there is a built in love story that seems to progress slowly, only to get changed up in the final act. 

"Gaia" is a slow moving horror movie. It's an interesting one, even though it leaves a bit much to be desired. There's not a lot of gore, but the premise and the plot movements keep you second guessing. The monsters are cool, the ecological aspect is interesting, but in the end, the pacing is going to cause you to either love it or hate it. Visually it's good, it's well acted, and has some good overall points of contention for horror fans. However, I don't think I'd watch it again, unless it was to show someone an example of  ecological horror, as it serves that genre well.