Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov

Everything about Gaia works in tandem to create a steadily escalating mood of Blastomycotic body-horror distress (including Pierre-Henri Wicomb’s anxiety-inducing score). Fans of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach trilogy and its Annihilation adaptation, and lovers of the defiantly feminine and vengeful natural world will find plenty to chew on in Gaia.

Slashfilm by Matt Donato

Gaia is a dazzling bio-horror excursion.

RogerEbert.com by Sheila O'Malley

Gaia does not feel like homework. It's a thought-provoking and disturbing experience rather than a lecture.

The Playlist by Andrew Crump

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.

The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak

Bouwer utilizes a memorable aesthetic (think Annihilation) that personifies nature while also reducing humanity to its base yearning for satisfaction. And Kapp renders it all part of a bigger scheme revealed through dream-like trances stripped of subterfuge and hope of escape.

Film Threat by Hunter Lanier

Gaia uses its atmosphere to great effect.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

It’s more creepy than terrifying, more thought-provoking than we initially expect, although perhaps not as “deep” as the filmmakers’ intended.

Original-Cin by Thom Ernst

Traditional horror fans are likely to find the effort tiresome despite a few intense scenes. But those who like their horror films laced in a philosophical debate will find plenty to enjoy.

The A.V. Club by A.A. Dowd

Even when the story takes on biblical overtones, the melodrama never blossoms. And in terms of suspense, Gaia doesn’t so much tighten the screws as endlessly turn them in the wrong direction.

Slant Magazine by Wes Greene

After a while, the film’s elaborate, often breathtaking special effects come to feel like it’s only source of complexity.