What Lurks 'In the Tall Grass' (Review)

Fear is a funny thing, really. I'm afraid of heights, but somewhere in the world, some crazy bastard is jumping out of an airplane for fun right now. Some people are afraid of horror movies, but I watch them in order to sleep comfortably at night. It feels as though no two fears are the same, yet, the truth is, we're all afraid of what's waiting for us in the tall grass. In the great unknown of our lives. Each and every decision we make can feel like wandering through a field with thick grass grown up over our heads and no clear-cut path of escape. We are left with our decisions and we are left with our fear of what's lurking behind them. Our fear of the future we can't see or even begin to comprehend. Our fear of mistakes and where they may leave us. The tall grass. 

In the Tall Grass - based on the novella (it's more of a short story) of the same name by Stephen King and Joe Hill - was written for the screen and directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) and it plays as a metaphor for those very fears. The film follows siblings Becky and Cal (Laysla De Oliveira & Avery Whitted), who are on a road trip to San Diego. Nauseated due to her pregnancy, Becky convinces Cal to pull off the side of the road so that she can vomit. They park beside a seemingly infinite field of tall grass and become concerned when they hear a young boy calling for help from somewhere inside. They venture into the grass to help the boy find his way out, only to become lost themselves and at the mercy of the sinister presence that resides there. 

Netflix has a knack for grabbing the rights to less-popular Stephen King adaptations. 2017 saw the streaming service release Gerald's Game and 1922 - both of them being among the very best Netflix original films - and they've done so again with In the Tall Grass, which joins the previous two titles in regard to its greatness. It would be a near-impossible task for any film adaptation to usurp the haunting and brutal story by King and the supremely talented Joe Hill, but Natali's take on the source material is an impressive stab at doing so. Along with the eerie, disorienting cinematography by Craig Wrobleski, Director Natali sows those seeds within our consciousness and urges viewers to observe their own journey through the tall grass while laying out a mind-bending nightmare for the characters of the film. 

At the center of that nightmare is a scene-stealing Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring, Insidious) who feels as though he was destined to chew on the meat of a Stephen King character. Hopefully this won't be the last time he's given a chance to do so. To talk more about his performance would lead into spoiler territory, and we certainly don't want that. "Laws no, we don't!" another King character might say. The rest of the cast carries their own weight here as well, with Harrison Gilbertson (Upgrade) especially standing out and allowing his character to gain unexpected sympathy from the audience.

The story isn't a long one and there's just barely enough material to stretch into a 90-minute film that, for the majority of its runtime, features characters wandering through grass and trying to find an exit. That the film remains gripping throughout is a testament to the atmosphere that Natali and Wrobleski manage to conjure, the patience Natali shows in layering the film with new elements at his own pace, and the engaging performances. One way or another, we all end up in the tall grass. You might as well start now.

In the Tall Grass is now streaming on Netflix.

Score: 4/5