Laysla De Oliveira is Becky DeMuth, a pregnant young woman who is being driven some distance by her brother, Cal (Avery Whitted). Their journey has a definite objective, to be revealed, and the father of the child doesn't seem to be in the picture, but things start to get decidedly odd when the two enter a large field of tall grass in response to the pleading cries of a young boy (Tobin, played by Will Buie Jr.). Entering the field is a damn sight easier than finding your way out again. It's an area that doesn't obey the laws of physics, and time also seems to run differently there. Becky and Cal eventually meet Tobin's parents (played by Patrick Wilson and Rachel Wilson). And, due to the time trickery in the field, Travis (Harrison Gilbertson) turns up to help. He is the absent father of Becky's child, and claims that she and her brother have already been missing for a couple of weeks by the time they all come together in the field.
Adapted for the screen, and directed, by Vincenzo Natali, this is a great bit of horror escapism that viewers will enjoy if, much like the characters onscreen, they allow themselves to be fully subsumed by the atmosphere of the field. Although I am unfamiliar with the source material, so cannot tell you whether this is faithful to it or not, Natali definitely delivers a good helping of mystery and scares while keeping the focus on the characters, their mental states affected by where they are in life (not in relation to the field), and how they can potentially save or doom one another as the field toys with them.
The cast is a mixed bag, but with more good than bad. De Oliveira is the best of the bunch, and automatically gains more sympathy due to the pregnant state of her character, but Patrick Wilson is a lot of fun, and good to see in a role that doesn't have him trapped in any Wan-iverse movie role. Rachel Wilson doesn't get a lot to do, Buie Jr. isn't too bad, and Gilbertson is okay, although I do wish that his role could have been given to someone a bit more familiar to viewers. Whitted is the weak link, and I suspect this may be the one element that Natali couldn't quite get right in translating the tale from page to screen. His character feels, deep down, like a typical King character. He's the guy playing nice while perhaps having a hidden agenda that will complicate things when it comes to the fore in the latter half of the story. You can meet this kind of character in The Stand, Needful Things, Under The Dome, and many other King tales. Unfortunately, either that is mishandled in the novella or Natali doesn't want to push it in this adaptation, stopping the character from becoming truly sympathetic while also never turning him into the major liability you suspect he could be.
This is not a film that's really about the human characters, however. It's about that field. It's about what is contained in the tall grass, and what it can do to those it manages to ensnare. In that regard, Natali does a fantastic job. He doesn't set out a number of rules, and the people/bodies signposting developments are intriguing, but also able to be changed at the whim of the field. Knowing that there's nothing to really figure out, in terms of any rules and limitations, allows for a more satisfying experience, as long as you are happy to go along for the ride.
Although not really all THAT scary, In The Tall Grass has some nice atmosphere, even in the scenes set in broad daylight, some impressive imagery, and a brisk pace that makes the 101-minute runtime pass by in a flash. It won't necessarily become a new favourite for anyone, but it is a fun little chiller.
7/10
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