NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature our very own Andrew Campbell of One Movie Punch, who will be reviewing one of the BILLION Stephen King adaptations from this year, entitled ‘In The Tall Grass’.”
NARRATOR: “However, rather than running a promo for One Movie Punch before the review, we’d like to instead run a promo for our friends at the Ocho Duro Parlay Hour. Every week, they cover a variety of sports, gaming, comics, and movie news, plus much more. The promo will run before the review.”
NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn our attention back to the fate of our host, Joseph, in Part Two of “FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT”.”
SCENE: Tall grasses.
NARRATOR: “Joseph found himself running through another grass field. He hadn’t had great luck with grassy fields so far.”
NARRATOR: “But if he had arrived by a grassy field, he figured he would have to cross one again on his way back, and besides, the setting was far too convenient to match up with today’s review to do otherwise.”
JOSEPH: “I hope this isn’t the same field.”
ANDREW: *meek child voice* “Help me.”
JOSEPH: “What’s a child doing out here?”
ANDREW: *meek child voice* “Help me.”
JOSEPH: “Do you need help?”
ANDREW: “Joseph!”
JOSEPH: “Andrew, is that you?”
ANDREW: “Sort of. Listen, I can only speak to you right now.”
JOSEPH: “Are you going to look like Michael J. Fox, too?”
NARRATOR: “It was a poorly crafted callback. One Andrew would clearly not understand.”
ANDREW: “What? No. Listen. Do NOT help that child out.”
JOSEPH: “But it’s a kid.”
ANDREW: “Trust me. It’s a trap.”
JOSEPH: “Quiet, Admiral Ackbar!”
NARRATOR: “Now that’s a callback! From the last crossover, even!”
ANDREW: “Look. We’re close to finding you, but whoever’s doing this hasn’t made it easy.”
JOSEPH: “What do you mean?”
ANDREW: “Just keep moving forward, and don’t follow that voice.”
ANDREW: *meek child voice* “Help me.”
JOSEPH: “Yeah, but...”
ANDREW: “Just keep going until you hit the parking lot. Remember, they can’t hurt you, if...”
NARRATOR: “But, of course, Andrew’s voice was suddenly gone, leaving the rustling of the grasses, and what sounded like footsteps, and, of course.”
ANDREW: *meek child voice* “Help me.”
JOSEPH: “Well, if the child voice is there, and the footsteps from whatever’s following me are there, then I should head in this direction. As fast as possible.”
NARRATOR: “And run he did, away from both sounds, checking every now and again to ensure he had the optimal path of strategic retreat, until... you join us next time for Part Three of “FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT”, where we’ll be joined by Erik Kosnar and Aicila (Eye-Sil-A) Lewis of the Bicurean podcast, where they’ll be reviewing the intense horror allegory, “It Follows”. And in Joseph’s case, it definitely follows.”
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<< OCHO DURO PARLAY HOUR PROMO >>
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Hello film fans!
Andrew here. It’s been a minute, but I’m glad to be back for my first of two entries during the Reign of Terror. Fantastic Fest 2019 wrapped up a couple weeks ago and after watching nearly 30 films during the course of eight days, it wasn’t easy getting back in the groove of normal life. Of course, it was all worth it as I have reloaded with a full slate of amazing motion pictures, big and small, to bring your way in the months ahead. The films ran the gamut from character dramas, biting satires, out-there comedies and, of course, plenty of horror.
Today’s film is “In the Tall Grass”, written and directed by Vincenzo Natali and based on the novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill. The film made its world premiere at Fantastic Fest just two weeks before hitting Netflix last Friday. Cal (Avery Whitted) and his very pregnant sister Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) are traveling across the country when a roadside stop next to a field of, how do I describe it, tall grass, derails their journey. When a lost boy calls out for help from within the field, they venture in and find themselves lost, prevented from leaving by some outside force. They soon learn they are not alone and so begins their journey to understand what is holding them and their struggle to escape.
No spoilers.
“In the Tall Grass” features a milquetoast cast performing serviceable work. The lone standout is the only actor you are likely to recognize, though you might not be able to name him – Patrick Wilson. For years, I saw Wilson as a bland actor playing mostly smug or entitled characters, opposite a young Ellen Page in “Hard Candy” or portraying Nite Owl – the stand-in for Batman in the “Watchmen” film. Only in recent years, have I begun to appreciate his talents, popping up in a guest role on Lena Dunham’s “Girls”, anchoring the “Conjuring” franchise along with Vera Farmiga, and portraying State Trooper Solverson on the second season of the “Fargo” anthology series. And, most oddly, as the main villain Ocean Master in “Aquaman”. His talents are not wasted here. He’s the only compelling member of the cast, doing his everyman thing with a deceitful undercurrent.
The real star of this film is the grass. Stalks and stalks of the green stuff on-screen at all times. Once we head into the grass, it’s clear we are going to stay here until this entire ride comes to an end. The grass starts out as a welcome backdrop of which director Natali takes full advantage, with interesting camera angles and lighting tricks. Yet, as the story builds, the background starts to become monotonous and claustrophobic, though perhaps that’s what the filmmaker intended. This shoot must have been an itchy nightmare.
The somewhat silly plot and the tedium of grass is broken up well by the occasional humor, including the pregnant and panicked Becky reciting some raunchy lyrics to stay within earshot of her brother. It cuts the tension and is exactly the kind of screwball dirty-old-man stuff that Stephen King readers will recognize from nearly all of his works.
What makes “In the Tall Grass” fantastic? Readers of Stephen King are legion in number and voracious in appetite. I appreciate that Natali took the core story and significantly changed the direction of the screenplay to ensure that fans of the original work would appreciate the adaptation, yet still find some new twists along the way. Unfortunately, the broader plot only serves to pad the run-time. The story may have been better off compressed into an episode of the “Creepshow” TV series that’s releasing weekly episodes right now on Shudder – a show which already delivers separate stories from both King and son Joe Hill. But we live in the era of the Stephen King renaissance and every story he’s ever committed to the page is in some stage of development for the screen, so it’s no shocker they stretched this one out to feature length.
“In the Tall Grass” (2019) delivers a fun premise that struggles to fill an entire film, although the cast and the director do solid work in wringing out all of the potential. Fans of sci-fi/horror escape films such as “Cube” or 2017’s “Mayhem” will enjoy this one.
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Metacritic: 48
One Movie Punch: 6.4/10
“In the Tall Grass” is not rated and is now streaming on Netflix.
Hang tight, Constant Listener, you’ve got some outstanding classic and cult horror films still to come this month, presented by a diverse and passionate group of podcasters. I’ll be back in two weeks for “Tigers Are Not Afraid”, a Mexican horror film that boasts a strong social message and a 97% Certified Fresh rating. You don’t want to miss it!
