30 Years Later, the Terrors of ‘Safe’ Are Just as Alarming

The eco-horror genre can often take a high-energy, high-action approach. We’ve seen animals and/or insects transformed by an environmental shift that makes them want to attack every human in their midst. We’ve seen nature twisted into spawning vicious monsters both giant and microscopic. We’ve also seen the weather go haywire and spiral into an ice age in act three after ripping Los Angeles with tornados in act one. But not every eco-horror film speaks in such a loud voice. In 2011, Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter explored the fragmenting domestic life of a construction worker whose apocalyptic visions soon become an obsession; as he prepares for doom, his increasingly exasperated loved ones assume he’s completely nuts. In 2021, Ben Wheatley’s In the Earth investigated a story obliquely about the covid-19 pandemic, set in a forest where the plants have launched an offensive against all human invaders. Even earlier, Todd Haynes’ Safe—released in theaters 30 years ago this month after debut ... Read full article.