A Filmmaker's Review: "In the Tall Grass" (2019)

There is something terribly predictable about this film but also something that is almost fun about watching it. To be perfectly honest, I am pretty sure that about a quarter of the way through the film, you will be able to guess what is going to happen and exactly how it was going to do so. But, be that as it may, the film has a quality to not be like other horror films because there are no real ghosts or supernatural movements - it’s just grass. It’s far more philosophical and existential in its existence and the way in which this is moulded into an entire storyline filled with things that can be considered very philosophically frightening is something that only Stephen King could achieve in his amazing writing. There are several Stephen King-esque tropes that you can look out for in this film and that is part and parcel to the fun of it.

First of all we have the initially well-intentioned character who is actually the villain of the whole thing. This is definitely true of “In the Tall Grass” and I will not tell you who it is but it happens in so many Stephen King books [and the films/shows based on them]. For example: we have Annie Wilkes from “Misery” who is at first, well meaning and then eventually shows her crazy side. We then have Jack Torrance, who in the film is not that friendly but in the book was less frightening before he went insane. I don’t know whether that is due to Jack Nicholson or not but, there we are. Then, we have “Secret Window” in which again the main character is first well meaning and well intentioned but then turns out to be crazy as hell. In the film “In the Tall Grass” we have this very same pattern of events, which makes it a key film for Stephen King fans like you and me.

Second of all, we have something very strange possessed by something very old. Throughout Stephen King’s novels we have had the Overlook Hotel which is supposedly built on an Indian Burial Ground, then we have the corn field in “Secret Window” which may not be that old but you get the idea. And then in “In the Tall Grass” there’s…a giant rock. A rock. It’s big and has carvings on it. It’s in the middle of a field but it’s a rock. And by God it will be the most uncomfortable rock you have ever seen.

Finally, we have some troubled and traumatic relationship that turns into toxicity so fast. In “The Shining” it is the relationship between the father and the son, then in “Secret Window” it is between the man and his lover, in “Misery” it is the toxicity of fandom and idolisation and now in “In the Tall Grass” it was between various family members of two different families. I don’t know what to tell you but there are some pretty strong Stephen King tropes here.

So why did I knock off two marks?

Yes it has all the fun of the Stephen King tropes that you can point out along the way if you have seen everything from “Carrie” to “Dark Tower”. But the problem this film has is its storyline. It is not only the fact that it was predictable but there was another element of something that seemed a bit too far-fetched and really, it disconnects you slightly from the film. I’m not going to lie though, the film’s biggest strength was using Patrick Wilson - because he is a brilliant actor and possibly one of my personal favourites. The only thing I have to say though about the predictability is through making the woman [Becky] pregnant. There is something about that which makes you think: ‘okay, I know she’s in danger now…’ but as the story progresses, you know she is going to have the baby some time soon. I did not find the other characters being fleshed out enough though and the character of Calvin in particular, seemed a bit shoehorned around as if he was not even supposed to be there. Or maybe that’s just me. I like the rock though. The rock seemed cool.