Can a simple field of grass become a site of infinite, recurring supernatural horror?
In short: In the 2019 film In the Tall Grass, a pregnant woman and her brother are lured into a vast, paranormal field by cries for help. They soon discover that distance is meaningless, time is a loop, and the grass itself possesses a sinister, hunger-driven intelligence that refuses to let them leave.
Directed by Vincenzo Natali and based on a 2012 novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill, the film explores the terrifying potential of an ordinary Kansas field. Natali, who began developing the project in 2015, sought to transform an innocuous setting into a stage for disturbing horror. The narrative follows Becky and Cal, who enter the grass to assist a young boy named Tobin, only to find themselves trapped in a shifting, non-Euclidean landscape where the dead do not stay buried and time repeats in a cycle of suffering.
The production, which Netflix acquired in May 2018, utilized locations across Ontario, including a custom-built church set in Perth South and filming sites in Toronto and Elmira. The visual identity of this unsettling world was influenced by concept art from manga artist Shintaro Kago. Despite the atmospheric ambition, the film received mixed critical reception upon its October 2019 release. Critics often praised the performances and the fidelity to the original story's tone, yet many felt the transition from a short novella to a feature-length film resulted in inconsistent pacing and dialogue.
At the heart of the mystery is a mysterious rock that serves as a focal point for the field's supernatural influence. Characters who encounter the stone are subjected to prophetic visions and psychological corruption, leading to a desperate struggle for survival. The film's non-linear structure forces the characters to confront their own past mistakes, including unresolved conflicts regarding an unplanned pregnancy. Ultimately, the story functions as a dark meditation on cycles of trauma, with the characters fighting to break a loop that threatens to consume them and their unborn child indefinitely.
The film's impact was recognized within the horror community, earning a nomination for its streaming debut at the 2020 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards. While review aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic reflect a divided critical consensus, the film remains a notable example of how filmmakers attempt to expand slim source material into complex, feature-length supernatural narratives.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: In the Tall Grass (film)
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