Writer: Vincenzo Natali (Screenplay) Stephen King (Novel)
Starring: Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Patrick Wilson, Will Buie Jr, Harrison Gilbertson, Tiffany Helm, Rachel Wilson
Plot: 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.
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Overly Confusing
Story: In the Tall Grass starts as siblings Becky (De Oliveira) and Cal (Whitted) are traveling cross country when they stop for a moment so the pregnant Becky can have her moment to recovery herself, before continuing on their journey, they hear a call from the tall grass of a little boy Tobin (Buie Jr) saying he is trapped in need of help, the pair head into the grass and soon become separated and lost in the grass too.
As night comes they learn they might not be alone in the grass and Ross (Wilson) Tobin’s father tries to help Becky, only for everything we have seen to get spun on us to be left wondering just what is happening in the grass.
Thoughts on In the Tall Grass
Characters – Becky is the pregnant lady traveling across country to start a life with her baby, her maternal instincts take over when she hears a young boy calling for help in the grass, which sees her get trapped, she experiences different pregnancy problems while trying to find her way out. Cal is the protect brother, who couldn’t win a fight to save his life, he wants his sister to date somebody with a future and an education. Ross is the father of Tobin who has gone too far into the grass before, he knows what is happening making him a real threat to the rest. Tobin is the little boy that is calling out for help, he desperate cries for help lead to the events of the film as Becky and Cal go in search for the answer.
Performances – When it comes to the performances this is a hard one to hate or enjoy anybody in the film, nobody is bad, Laysla De Oliveira and Avery Whitted as the brother sister don’t have the best chemistry. Patrick Wilson does go full crazy for parts of the film and it is the best part to watch.
Story – The story here follows a group of people that lost in tall grass which seems to have a mind of itself which will see them needing to figure out how to make it out alive. This is a story that does do a lot of confusing things because we do try to capture the magic of ‘Triangle’ only for it to be way to confusing for the most part because we are going over and over through different points of view which just doesn’t give us enough to work with because a lot happens in pitch black too which doesn’t make it clear just what was happening. This is a story you could break down and figure out what happened, but it isn’t a causal watch when figuring out the loops.
Horror – The horror in the film is meant to come from the unknown in the grass and just what happens within the grass.
Settings – The film wants to use the tall grass for the settings, I guess this is an American thing for it to be scary.
Special Effects – The effects used in the film are mostly shock for gore, which are fine, but just don’t shock the way they want too.
Scene of the Movie – Ross finds a way in.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many attempts to create a reset.
Final Thoughts – This is a horror that just doesn’t get to any horror levels, if you have seen ‘Triangle’ you will have seen a much more interesting and better version of this story.
Overall: Just not Triangle.