Movie
Name/Year: In
the Tall Grass (2019)
Genre: Horror
Length: 101 minutes
Rating: TV-MA
Production/Distribution: Copperheart Entertainment,
Netflix
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Writers: Vincenzo Natali, Stephen King,
Joe Hill
Actors: Laysla De Oliveira, Avery
Whitted, Patrick Wilson, Will Buie Jr., Harrison Gilbertson, Tiffany Helm,
Rachel Wilson
Blurb from IMDb: After hearing a young boy's
cry for help, a sister and brother venture into a vast field of tall grass in
Kansas but soon discover there may be no way out...and that something evil
lurks within.
Selina’s
Point of View:
I was looking forward to seeing In the Tall Grass.
After all, what could be better for some serious Halloween watching than a bit
of Stephen King (It, Cujo, Pet Sematary)? At the very least, you know
there’ll be a decent plot. If the movie creators stick close to the book, the
writing shouldn’t be that bad either. Right?
If only.
If I could sum up what I just watched into one thought it would be
that the film was made as an excuse to show tall grass in various perspectives
with everything else as an afterthought. I can appreciate unique camera angles
and interesting lines in a picture, but none of the artistic choices for
cinematography seemed to enhance anything in the movie – except for one near
the end that heightened the terror aspect. It’s like the director opted to use
the pointless grass shots as padding to make In the Tall Grass longer.
I believe this film is going to disappear into my memory
completely. I’m not going to remember it at all in about a week.
Quite frankly, you could watch it or read it and still not spoil
the other method of taking in the story. I can only recommend the book though.
It’s a novella, so it won’t be a huge project to undergo.
Cat’s
Point of View:
I
was very excited that this movie was released in time for – and made it onto –
our Chills & Thrills viewings this month. The trailers alone gave me the
heebie-jeebies… but that’s also partially based on my own phobias. Amplify that
feeling and tension by 100… or few… and you get the level of dread that
permeated this movie for me. It was exciting!
As
I was watching, I thought to myself that the feel of the story was much like a Stephen
King (Under the Dome, It, Gerald's Game)
story. Lo and behold, the film is actually based on a novella King wrote with
his son. I’m going to have to look that up. Seriously. I’ve been a longtime
fan, but haven’t read this one yet. I can’t wait to see how the feel of the
tale is different on the written page vs. the screen.
I’m
actually a bit glad that I’ve experienced this story in this order. I’ve
encountered several of King’s works this way – inspired by a movie or
mini-series to find out what elements of the story were left on the cutting
room floor. Considering this movie was based on a novella, I imagine that it’s
in the vision of translating the page to the screen and how the story was interpreted
that will make the difference. For instance, when The Stand (1994) mini-series hit TV, it broke a roughly 8 hour
movie into 4 parts, and there were entire chapters left out from the final
version that audiences enjoyed.
I
digress…
Based
on the trailer, I was expecting something more along the lines of Children of the Corn (1984), and was
pleasantly surprised that the story didn’t replay that theme to its full
extent. You can see shades of influence throughout the film, but it’s on par
with common elements within King’s stories. I also got a little bit of the feel
from The Tommyknockers (1987) – though
I’m referencing his book, and not the 1993 TV mini-series. That property has
recently been optioned by Universal, so I’m hoping it will get better treatment
in the future… but that’s beside the point.
Aside
from the fact that the movie truly felt like one of the great masters of horror
had his hand in it, the story stands alone rather well. It’s a bit of a crazy
head-trip with elements that spin you around as everything unfolds. We normally
see the typical horror trope of campers in the woods getting scared by noises
made by things unseen. This movie flips that by throwing the characters into a
seemingly unending sea of monstrously tall grass. When tensions are high and
visibility is next to nil, one would imagine your mind starts playing tricks on
you. From a personal standpoint, that’s terrifying. Though, I have literally no
basic sense of direction to speak of. I sometimes get turned around in my own
neighborhood – and I’ve lived here 95% of my life.
The cast was solid in their performances. I believed every minute of their
bewilderment and fear. I also have a great appreciation for the practical
effects here. While there were some effects necessary to communicate some of
the underlying nuances, it didn’t require anything super flashy to get the
point across.
Though,
there were some flashes within the film that were a little odd and took me out
of the moment on a few occasions, I don’t feel like the overall movie suffered
for it.
I
would definitely give this film a solid referral, and I can’t wait to get my hands
on the e-book.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score –
40%
Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None
Metascore – 46/100
Metacritic
User Score –
6.2/10
IMDB
Score –
5.5/10
CinemaScore – None
Trust
the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5
Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5
Trust
the Dice Parental Advisory Rating - R
Movie
Trailer:
