In the Tall Grass (2019) | Movie Review

This has got to be one of the weirdest films I have seen this year. The setting of the film is simple, but the plot is intriguing yet disturbing in a way. Are you fascinated by my description? Don't worry, I will reveal more about my thoughts on this film in this blog.

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What is "In the Tall Grass About"?

As written on Netflix

After hearing a boy's cry for help, a pregnant woman and her brother wade into a vast field of grass, only to discover there may be no way out.

My summary of the film

In the Tall Grass, a Netflix original film, begins with a pair of siblings making a pit stop in the middle of nowhere— a brother and his heavily pregnant sister. During their stop, they hear the voice of a child crying for help. Like most rational adults, they attempt to call for help using their cellphones, but to no avail, as there is no service in the area. Taking matters into their own hands, the brother and sister venture into the tall grass to search for the boy, unaware that within its tangled embrace lies the gateway to their darkest nightmares.

The Cast:

A special shoutout to the cast of In the Tall Grass, especially little Tobin because he me at the edge of my seat. That kid acted his butt off.

• Will Buie Jr. as Tobin Humbolt (Kid)
• FeedbackAvery Whitted as Cal DeMuth (Brother)
• Patrick Wilson as Ross Humbolt (Dad/Husband)
• Laysla De Oliveria as Becky DeMuth (Sister)
• Harrison Gilbertson as Travis McKean (Ex-boyfriend)
• Natalie Humbolt (Mom/Wife)

This list of course does not consist of the full cast, this is simply the main cast. These are the characters that you will mostly see on your screen.

Trailer:

Let's take a sneak peek

My thoughts on the movie:

My first thought when I first came across this movie was,

"How can something as common and simple as grass be scary?"

Boy, was I in for a shocker.

Follow me as I walk you through my thoughts of the plot. Allow me to break things down.

THE INITAL CONTACT WITH THE GRASS

This is Cal and Becky's first go round with the odd grass. Oblivious to the conditions of the grass, they enter in attempt to help a child. This is something most people would do- I think. Cal and Becky enter this tall grass without hesitation.

When I say tall, I mean this grass is like Shaq-tall, possibly even taller. It's just a field of grass; there are no fruits or vegetables in sight.

Now that you can visualize how tall the grass is, imagine these two grown adults trying to find a child between ages 8-11, in the middle of tall grass in the heat. Keep in mind, one half of this search committee is heavily pregnant- about to pop pregnant.

The brother, Cal, is able to move at a faster rate than his sister so he moves through the grass quicker. Next thing you know, Becky and Cal have lost each other within the grass. In addition to trying to find the child, they have to find one another. This is tricky because the grass is towering and thick. At this point, the brother has walked so far into the grass, it's not as if he can turn around and walk a few steps back to his sibling.

In an effort to remedy their new problem, they start talking from their respective locations. This is smart. Similar to how people play "Marco-Polo" in the swimming pool to determine if the player (Marco) is getting close to his/her opponents (Polo's), the siblings used to sound to assertain if they were near each other.

Becky and Cal were within inches of each other until they weren't.

Weird right? I thought so too. Let me explain.

In their second effort to find one another, they decide to jump on three. Becky and Cal go "1, 2, 3, jump," they jump and find that they are close. They do their countdown again- "1, 2, 3" but this time, Cal is no longer as near. As far as Becky knows, Cal might as well have been on the otherside of field.

How did that happen?

The grass shifted their postions...

I'll allow you to ponder that for a moment.

We're just getting started.

IT'S GETTING DARK...

So, as nightfall approaches, the soon-to-be mother, Becky, has been trekking all day. As you can imagine, she is quite exhausted. However, the boy is still nowhere to be found. In her search for her brother, Becky encounters Tobin's father, Patrick. He appears to be a calm man and claims to know the way back to the road. Naturally, Becky is hesitant at first, but given her condition—a pregnant lady in the middle of a field of precarious grass— she eventually follows Patrick. I don't blame her.

Cal finds the kid, who leads him to a large rock situated in the middle of the field. As Cal cautiously reaches out to touch the rock, a sudden gust of wind sweeps through, causing the grass in the field to sway. In the midst of this, Becky's voice pierces the air with a scream for help.

TRAVIS THE INVESTIGATOR

Travis is the ex-boyfriend/boyfriend- their relationship took a turn prior to them getting lost in the grass- to Becky. Travis is also the man responsible for Becky's pregancy. The reason why their relationship got rocky was because Travis did not want the child.

Remember, in the summary I wrote earlier, I said Becky and Cal were taking a quick stop in front of this blade of grass. Meaning, they were headed somethere. Becky and Cal were on their way to speak to the family that would potentially adopt and raise her child. This piece of information is vital to the plot.

Someway, somehow, Travis manages to track Becky down to this mysterious location. As he approaches the scene, all his sees is a church with cars parked outfront and grass. He stopped as soon as he saw Becky's car. Driven by curiosity, he ventures inside the church, only to find it empty. He reaches for a door but it's locked shut.

(The door is important as well).

Travis leaves the church in search of Becky and Cal seeing as though their vehicle, and many others, is still parked in front of the church. Unlike the others, Travis makes landmarks out of the grass by grabbing a handful of grass of tying it. I thought this was incredibly genius because the grass is so vast, someone travelling alone could easily get lost. I truly didn't understand why the others didn't use this tactic, especially since they were walking aimlessly for hours on end.

Good thinking Travis!

Unfortunately for Travis, the grass had other plans.

Whenever Travis would make strides and create landmarks, the grass would undo his creations. I know this might seem crazy, but the grass would literally wait for Travis to walk up a few paces and then unravel his work; essentially making it impossible for him, or anyone, to make it out of the grass.

My thought at this point: "What kind of sick, twisted grass is this?"

Hold on, it gets even creepier.

As Travis is walking through the grass, the sun is ahead of him one moment, and in the blink of an eye, it's behind him. THE GRASS SHIFTS AGAIN... The grass moves like tectonic plates, shifting without warning or sensation for the characters. They must simply adapt to its unpredictable behavior. At times, the grass induces a sense of madness, defying all logic for both the characters and viewers.

Tobin has found Travis. Here's what's intriguing about this encounter. Tobin seems to have already met travis before. In fact, Tobin is even finishing Travis's sentences for him. Tobin knows who Travis is looking for. How?

As far as we, the audience knows, this is their first encounter.

WRONG.

In fact this whole experience of the boy screaming for help, Becky and Cal looking for the kid, and Travis looking for them is a continous loop.

It's not as if the day starts over, no; the characters always seem to find their way back to the grass. I know you don't understand it now; you have to watch to truly comprehend the level of craziness this movie is.

I don't think you all really comprehend what i'm saying. Let's recount everything that's happened thus far:

Two siblings, on their way to a meeting, make a pit stop. They hear what sounds like a young boy cry out for help. Becky and Cal enter the grass in search of the boy only to lose one another. At somepoint, Becky encounters Patrick, Tobins dad. Cal finds Tobin and they end up in front of this strange rock. Travis, the baby's father, enters the grass looking for the baby's mother, Becky. After walking for hours, it is evening, and he comes across the kid, Tobin, who seems to already know him.

Are you all caught up now?

Good.

Tell me why the next scene is Tobin, outside of the grass in the clean clothes, and Travis the one in the grass?

This time Tobin is the one who isn't familiar with Travis, and it appears that his family had just arrived at the church. It's as if Travis is the one who needs rescuing this time around.

This scenario happens over and over again with each of them being the victim.

I hope this beginning to make sense to you all.

Now that your interest is piqued, and without me divulging too much of the plot, I will skip to the end.

Travis committed a selfless act by compromising himself to save everyone else. (The rock is important; remember I said that earlier). Tobin, Becky, and Cal eventually find their way out of that devilish grass. (The locked church door, as a hinted before.) And all is right with the world after that.

Side Note:

I don't blame the father, I blame the rock. I wish the grass had better source of sustenance for Becky, but I understand it's grass. I am also interested to know, who were the other people in the grass. I know we don't see or hear them but what happened to the people who owned the other cars parked outside the church? Where is the pastor of the church and who has been cleaning the church? Since, at the end, they didn't enter the grass, did the loop continue after?

These are all questions that need answers.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed watching this film. I enjoyed that it had a distinct plot. I can't say that I've ever seem a movie or television show with this sort of scenery. Overall, job well done to everyone. Thank you Netflix for putting this beautiful piece work out.

Rating: 8/10

Thanks for Reading!

Thank you for reading this movie review on "In the Tall Grass." I know this was a rather lengthy post; I appreciate your time and your eyes. Thank you for reading every single word.

I hope that you added "In the Tall Grass" to your list of movies to watch. Send me a message or post a comment down below. Share your opinions on the movie or this post in the comments; please be respectful in the comments.

I hope you all enjoyed reading. Have a beautiful day!