Sarah Conley
Netflix / Dir. Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Harrison Gilbertson
Weird, claustrophobic, and full of WTF moments.
If there was a horror zodiac, 2019 would be the year of the King. Stephen King, that is. So far we’ve been treated to Pet Sematary (April), IT: Chapter 2 (September), and In the Tall Grass (October). Now next month we will get to see the big screen adaptation of Doctor Sleep in theaters November 8. As a dedicated horror fan, I say keep ‘em coming. However, as a dedicated cave goblin, I have a way of categorizing films like In the Tall Grass, and that is: Their first mistake was going outside.
Let me explain.
Netflix’s film In the Tall Grass is based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill. In the film, siblings Becky (Laysla De Oliveira) and Cal (Avery Whitted) are on a road trip across the country, headed for California. Becky is pregnant and it’s revealed through dialogue that the father bailed on her, so she and her brother are going to meet a couple that want to adopt the baby. During a roadside stop, Becky and Cal hear the cries of a young boy lost in a field of—anyone?—tall grass. They venture into the grass to help the boy, but instead of rescuing him, they become ensnared in the field themselves. Cut off from the outside world and unable to find their way back to the road, they meet another family trapped in the grass and the menacing nature of the setting begins to reveal itself.
We’re never sure exactly where the field is, but that’s probably the point. It’s supposed to look like every other flyover state in America’s heartland. The ambiguity of the setting isn’t comforting, though. There’s no small town, no general store, and no front porch with old men sitting in rocking chairs. In fact, there is nothing but the grass, an empty church, and the interstate that separates the two. The huge, empty setting is agoraphobia at its most unnerving, but also completely claustrophobic once you enter the tall grass with the characters. The grass is the ultimate liminal space as the concept is used in American Gothic stories; a shifting, impermanent place that serves as a threshold between what was and what might be. The known, and the unknowable. The viewers who don’t see the creep factor in such spaces have likely never been in a deserted rest stop bathroom at 2am on Route 66. It’s safe to say that an atmosphere like that can carry the bulk of a film all by itself.
The bulk of it, but not all. Sadly, the actual story and all the characters in the film feel frustratingly malleable and half finished, like a cake taken out of the oven too soon, and like trying to cut an undercooked cake, the film is kind of messy. It involves alternate timelines that branch off the main story, but most of them are never explored or wrapped up.
It’s hard to say whether Tall Grass, as a film, is successful or not. Ratings from reviewers tend to land solidly on either side of the fence; like it or leave it. I thought it was entertaining, but I like weird, slow-burn, cerebral horror films that don’t necessarily answer all your questions and leave you to form your own conclusions. Tall Grass definitelydoes that. While it’s not as good as a lot of other films out there based on King’s work, In the Tall Grass draws you in, the cinematography is gorgeous, and it boasts Patrick Wilson as an antagonist. Wilson, who has starred in two other major horror franchises (Insidious, and The Conjuring), gives a solid performance as always, and unfortunately, he and the grass are the best actors in the film. Since you as the viewer are effectively trapped in the tall grass with the characters, most of the fun in watching it is imagining what you would do in their shoes. If I’m honest, I probably would have stayed in the car. Fresh air kills people.
