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Gaia

2021

Jaco Bouwer

Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex van Dyk, Anthony Oseyemi

5.4

344

Fantasy. Horror On a surveillance mission in a primordial forest, a park ranger 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. 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.

	Media	Author	Review
		Meagan Navarro Bloody Disgusting	"While it’s not the most accessible type of narrative, nor entirely new, it lures you in with its awe-inspiring sense of wonder and mythical world-building (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"
		Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle	"A masterpiece of socially aware eco-horror"
		Rob Hunter Film School Rejects	"Jaco Bouwer immerses viewers into a world shifting endlessly between beauty and terror. For all the interesting ideas in Tertius Kapp‘s script, though, the film suffers from a lack of clarity and purpose with its characters."
		J Hurtado Screen Anarchy	"Gaia is a rock solid eco-horror in the vein of The Ruins, but with much loftier ideas. Bouwer's direction and intermittently flashy visuals help to sell screenwriter Tertius Kapp's bold choices,"
		Matt Donato SlashFilm	"With shades of Annihilation, The Last Of Us, and The Ruins, Jaco Bouwer‘s Gaia is a welcome addition to the environmental horror canon"
		Guy Lodge Variety	"Highly resourceful visual effects are the star of Jaco Bouwer's auspicious calling-card feature, but a thin, patchworked script wilts beneath them"
		Sushri Sahu Mashable	"'Gaia' is a must watch (...) It makes a subtle commentary on materialism and the impending doom (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Wes Greene Slant	"Plot is thin and perfunctory (...) [The] effects come to feel like mere affectation, as well as this rather aloof film’s only source of complexity (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Sheila O'Malley rogerebert.com	"A thought-provoking and disturbing experience (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		John Serba Decider	"Bouwer exercises significant visual prowess with 'Gaia', which is enjoyably stimulating, and ultimately a little more than the mere sum of its influences."
		Andrew Crump The Playlist	"'Gaia' is a weird damn movie, but Bouwer’s filmmaking centers the weirdness so well that once it subsides, we remain assured that we’re on firm ground."
		Phuong Le The Guardian	"Hypnotic cinematography (...) While the script could have used a touch more work the innovative visual effects are truly mesmerising (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"

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