A brother and his pregnant sister wander into a field when they hear a young boy's voice calling for help, but soon become trapped in the endless grass.
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In the Tall Grass (2019)Written and Directed by Vincenzo Natali
Starring Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, Harrison Gilbertson, Avery Whitted, Rachel Wilson, Will Buie, Jr. Based on the novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill |
I prefer to read the stories of King prior to seeing the movies, but as "In the Tall Grass" is not yet available in print, I figured I'd make an exception. This movie has serious potential, and the premise is flat out creepy. An endless field of grass that disorients you into not realizing how long you've been wandering through it? Sign me up, that's right up my alley. But In the Tall Grass is a strange movie. Not the scarefest I expected. More cerebral and interpretive, especially when one considers its parallels to other King stories like The Stand and "Children of the Corn."
Becky (De Oliveira) and her brother Carl (Whitted) are driving through an empty highway when they hear a young boy, Tobin (Buie Jr.) calling for help from within a giant field of tall grass. They decide to go looking for Tobin, and end up trapped themselves. The timeline here is difficult to understand, thanks to the film's tendency to jump around and create new situations with the same characters, in scenes we've already experienced. The film never offers any explanation as to how this is possible, either, and that bugged me. King movies often excel with the "What?" and the "Who?" but the "How?" and "Why?" is almost always overlooked. Maybe the novella has some answers. I enjoyed the movie for the most part, but it has some serious story issues in the third act and despite some strong performances, mostly by Patrick Wilson, the characters are pretty bland. The things I wanted to learn about the nature of the grass and the power behind it never come up even once. While that can add to the overall creepiness of a movie, it hinders it in this case. Is it as bad as the critics have said? No. Is it worth another watch? Probably not. |
This movie had a Children of the Corn vibe as soon as it opened. Instead of a couple, it's siblings driving through the middle of nowhere under tense circumstances. Becky (De Oliveira) and her brother, Cal (Whitted), are on their way to San Diego so she can give up her soon to be born daughter to another couple. Already a heavy situation that will be further compounded as events unfold.
After pulling over because Becky is nauseous, she hears a young boy calling for help from an adjacent field of tall grass. They both decide to go in and find out that things aren't what they seem. Given that I have seen Cube already, I know that director Vincenzo Natali can create a self-contained, disorienting, and claustrophobic environment out of something as innocuous as a field of grass. If you haven't seen Cube, go watch it and you'll see what I'm talking about. The camera work and editing also skillfully create the world that the siblings find themselves in as the terror closes in on them. I haven't read the novella so I can only imagine how much more terrifying the character of Ross Humboldt is but Patrick Wilson is fantastic as he slowly unravels over the course of the film. He really steals the show for me from his other castmates. By the end, I was scared of what he had done and the fact that he is so determined after he has been corrupted by the force controlling events in the tall grass to do whatever he is told to do. It really gets gruesome by then end. There are inexplicable time loops that enter the story about midway through that serves the narrative and it doesn't become distracting, at least to me. The film slowly descends into madness as the characters try to change their futures after being confronted, literally, with their previous mistakes. Like most King and Hill stories, you are seeing normal people react to an otherworldly circumstance and how it is meant to change them from the people we meet at the beginning. While Patrick Wilson was the highlight for me but there is one scene that showcases the stuff of nightmares, you'll know it when you see it. Trust me. I look forward to reading more collaborations from the duo of father and son and if this is any indication of what they can do on the page, I won't be disappointed. |