“Save your breath, kids! You can’t run from redemption!” - Ross Humboldt
In The Tall Grass is a new Netflix original film based on a novella by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. The film is directed by Vincenzo Natali, and stars Patrick Wilson, Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira, and Avery Whitted. The story follows multiple people that wander into a field of grass after they hear cries for help on the inside. Once each person arrives in the field, they discover that the grass shifts and moves your position all around without you even knowing, making it next to impossible to escape.
This movie has a lot going for it. However, many continuity errors arise, making the story incredibly hard to follow at times. I’ll talk more about that later, but for now, let’s talk about the good stuff.
First off, the production value is insane. The sound design is incredible, and the audio shifts around to add to the effect of the field moving around, which I thought was very cool. The visual effects are great, and the way that the grass moves around and then comes to a dead stop all at once is really creepy. It’s amazing to me that the grass itself is like a character of its own, and manages to seem sinister and evil just like an actual person might.
The acting in this movie is impressive, and the actors do their best with the dialogue that is given to them. The music is also really cool, and I love how they included a Creedence Clearwater Revival song while at the same time making it seem eerie, and not quite right. The shots and camera movements are also quite interesting, and help to shape each scene.
As I said earlier though, there are some continuity errors, and many moments that just didn’t make any sense, and caused the film to be very hard to follow. I don’t think that this was the main intention. I think it was to make it seem trippy and confusing, but not nearly to the degree that it ended up being. This really bugged me, and I feel like I would have enjoyed the film much more had it been easier to follow.
Out of all the Netflix original Stephen King adaptations, this one is definitely the weakest. It’s not a bad film, but it’s not particularly good either. It’s still worth a watch, but I don’t think I’ll be rewatching In The Tall Grass anytime soon.
Rating: TV-MA
Grade: C+
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