Part Annihilation and part In the Earth, Jaco Bouwer’s Gaia is a wickedly crafted environmental horror. The film’s strong suit is undoubtably the chilling visuals, complete with all the ecological-induced nightmare fuel one can handle (major Kudos to the special effects and makeup crew). And while making “plants” scary is no easy feat (as seen in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening), the film manages to dig up plenty of frights from Mother Nature, herself. On the story front, it resonates well enough, keeping things interesting until the very end. However, it never quite reaches the depths it should, or could have. You see, there’s a needlessly melodramatic love story thrown into the mix that becomes increasingly preposterous as things move along. This in spite of a solid effort from the actors involved, Monique Rockman and Alex Van Dyk. Luckily, the overall journey is an undeniably compelling one. In fact, Gaia’s biblical nods and creep-tastic mythology make it so you won’t be able to look away – even when what you are looking at is terrifying as all heck. Good luck falling asleep on your next camping trip!