In the Earth (2021) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Zach drugs Martin and Alma to render them unconscious so he can perform a ritual on them. While they are unconscious, he takes unsettling photographs of them and marks Martin's arm with a symbol designed to attract an ancient presence in the woods. This marking is part of Zach's belief system tied to communicating with the entity bound to the standing stone.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Zach offers them shoes and tends to Martin's wound, gaining their trust before drugging them.

• zach
• drugging
• ritual
• unconscious
• mark

The symbol on Martin's arm is a mark created from animal gut that Zach applies while Martin is unconscious. According to Zach, this symbol is meant to attract a presence in the woods, an ancient sorcerer bound to a standing stone hidden in the forest. The marking is a crucial part of the ritualistic approach Zach uses to commune with this entity.

• symbol
• mark
• standing stone
• ritual
• sorcerer

Zach amputates several of Martin's toes because his foot became severely infected after the injury sustained during the escape from the masked attackers. However, the amputation also fits within Zach's cult-like methodology, as the ritualistic marking and physical alteration are both part of his approach to preparing Martin for communion with the ancient presence.

Foreshadowing: Martin's foot was injured when he desperately escaped the attackers without shoes.

• amputation
• infection
• toes
• Zach
• injury

Parnag Fegg is a legendary woodland spirit from local folklore that Alma introduces to Martin at the beginning of their journey. The spirit is part of the cultural mythology surrounding the fertile forest near Bristol. Zach later references an ancient presence tied to a standing stone, which appears to be connected to or may be the basis for the Parnag Fegg legend.

Foreshadowing: Alma mentions Parnag Fegg early in the film, establishing the forest's supernatural folklore.

• parnag fegg
• folklore
• spirit
• woodland
• legend

The standing stone is an ancient artifact hidden in the forest that is bound to the essence of an old sorcerer. Zach explains that this stone is the focal point for communicating with the presence he believes inhabits the woods. Olivia's research is also connected to this location, as she has been attempting to communicate with the entity using her scientific methods.

Foreshadowing: Zach reveals the stone's significance when he explains the purpose of the symbol on Martin's arm.

• standing stone
• sorcerer
• entity
• forest
• ritual

Olivia and Zach were once collaborators trying to communicate with the presence tied to the standing stone. However, they split because their methods fundamentally clashed, Olivia approached the communication through scientific research involving mycorrhiza and fungal intelligence, while Zach pursued mystical and ritualistic methods including sacrifices and the ancient text. Their conflicting approaches created an irreconcilable divide.

• olivia
• zach
• ex-husband
• split
• methods

The sacrament is an ominous concoction hinted at in the ancient book of local legends that Zach uses to connect with the forest's presence. Zach urges Martin to consume it as part of a ritual to commune with the entity bound to the standing stone. Martin hesitates but ultimately consumes the sacrament, though its exact effects remain ambiguous within the film's surreal narrative.

Foreshadowing: Zach references an ancient text that guides his rituals throughout the film.

• sacrament
• concoction
• ancient text
• ritual
• consumption

At the end of the film, Alma approaches Martin, who is regaining consciousness by the standing stone. However, she speaks in a hauntingly distorted voice, offering to guide him out of the woods. This ambiguous ending suggests that the forest's entity may have influenced or inhabited Alma, leaving uncertain whether she is truly helping Martin or if the presence is using her as its vessel.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the film, the forest's fungal spores cause vivid hallucinations, showing the entity's ability to influence minds.

• alma
• ending
• distorted voice
• entity
• woods

The fungal spores in the mist cause terrifying hallucinations and alter the characters' perceptions of reality. When Alma ventures through the fog in a hazmat suit, the spores infiltrate her protection and subject her to vivid, disturbing visions. The spores appear to be connected to the ancient presence in the forest and are part of the mycorrhiza network Olivia has been studying.

Foreshadowing: Olivia's research focuses on mycorrhiza, fungal networks that connect trees and can influence behavior.

• fungal spores
• mist
• hallucinations
• mycorrhiza
• fog

The masked attackers who assault Martin and Alma and steal their shoes are never explicitly identified in the film. They appear to be associated with Zach's cult-like operation in the forest, though this is never confirmed. The attack establishes the immediate danger of the woods and leads to Martin's foot injury, which becomes a critical plot point.

• masked attackers
• assault
• woods
• shoes
• attack

Olivia is investigating how mycorrhiza, the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots, can be used to enhance crop yields. Her research outpost in the unusually fertile forest near Bristol is dedicated to this agricultural application. However, her work becomes intertwined with the supernatural presence in the forest, as the mycorrhizal network appears to be connected to or perhaps is the ancient entity itself.

• olivia
• mycorrhiza
• research
• crops
• fungi

Martin Lowery is dispatched to the government-controlled research outpost during an unspecified pandemic because he is a scientist assigned to the mission. The outpost is located in a uniquely fertile forest near Bristol where his former partner and ex-lover, Olivia Wendle, conducts her mycorrhiza research. His role appears to be investigative, though the exact purpose of his specific dispatch is tied to connecting with Olivia's work.

• martin
• research outpost
• pandemic
• olivia
• scientist