Review: In the Tall Grass (2019)

Stars: Patrick Wilson, Rachel Wilson

Budget: 5m+

Directed By: Vincenzo Natali

Based on a book/novella written by Stephen King and Joe Hill. Was shown at Fantastic Fest earlier in the year then recently put on Netflix.
Probably one of the many films bought up by Netflix around a number of film festivals at that time.
Possibly also due to the rumor that it went a little over $5m budget then Netflix stepped in to help it into festivals. But that's just things I've heard on the grapevine, which may or may not be true.
James Marsden was also toted for the role of Patrick Wilsons, Ross Humbolt.

When 6 month pregnant Becky DeMuth (Laysla De Oliveira) and her brother Cal (Avery Whitted) pull over near a tall grass field when she feels a little ill, they hear a young boy shouting for help from within.
Cal and Becky go in to try help the boy (Tobin) find his way out. They quickly become aware that the field is not all what it seems to be. They realise this when their voice seem to be coming from different directions despite them standing still to call out to each other. Each one finds another member of a family who appears to have gone in before them, Becky finds Tobins father Ross, Cal finds Tobin himself.
Things quickly go wrong for both of them and it appears that Becky dies, then Cal vanishes. What seems like ages outside of the grass, we see Travis (Becky's Ex) played by Harrison Gilbertson who is now searching for Becky. He asks a gas station attendee but she seems to not know.
He drives near the area Cal and Becky stopped seeing their vehicle by a dilapidated church (where Cal Parked up so the could go into the field). He also hears people shouting for help from within the field too then goes in to look for them.
It seems things keep repeating in and out of linear time within the field, we also find out if you die in the field your body stays in the same place and doesn't move anymore. Later we see Ross has been possessed by some weird stone that resides in the middle of the field which he says has shown him the true meaning of the field. In horror movie speak turned him into a nutty killer. In and out of sequence the people meet then team up to try to survive the killer grass maze, they even come across a weird bowling arena at one point to take refuge.

Okay so Travis has come looking for Becky because outside the field they've been missing for about 2 months. He is the father and Cal hates him, no one is good enough for his little sister (almost to a sexual degree too). This movie has a great idea but it spoiled by numerous things throughout its run time, the run time being one its a little long and inflated to me.
The rock plot-line is a tad weird too it might have been a good idea to just keep it to the grass sending someone mad perhaps. The main thing for me though I really try to stop it clouding my judgement of films with it included. Peril to babies, this film goes one step beyond for me in that respect with the death of a NEW BORN baby.
It's ultimately a story-line of redemption and doing the right thing that ultimately gets them out of their pickle in the end. It's okay I suppose and if you have the 1hr 41mins to spare i'm sure most people won't get hung up on the baby stuff like i did.

THN awards In the Tall Grass 2 out of 5 that's me being trying to ignore the baby stuff as much as possible.

Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Stars: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter

Budget: $416k

Directed By: Don Siegel

Originally a novel and possibly one of the most done story lines of all time. Just this alone is probably one of the most remade films of all time. But then who can blame it?
The thought of everyone being a hive mind of sorts and no individuality is a terrifying aspect to most people.

Every version has aspects of the times paranoia, such as cold war, conformity and being taken over. Almost versions show people being taken over by a plant like organism, a pod, tendrils or tiny plant copying it's subject with all memories looks etc but devoid of emotion.  It's interesting to see how each take on the movie is dealt with, especially of its time period. Some bleak others hopeful.
I've done reviews for similar films in the past like puppet masters, also originally a novel too, you'll find it in my history to the right.

Directed by Don, or Donald Siegel who most people these days might only recall from such films as Dirty Harry and/or Escape from Alcatraz.

It stars Kevin McCarthy who most people should still know these days he's been in a lot of films and TV series's throughout his lifetime. What a lifetime too born 1914 and died 2010 he acted right up until his death (beyond even, as the grand inquisitor in the ghastly love of Johnny X in 2012). McCarthy also pops up in the 70's version of the film too as a cameo, as a 'running man'.
His female co-star Dana Wynter was not well known and didn't go on to do anything notable other than TV roles, some quite prominent in later years such as Magnum PI and Hawaii 5-0.

Lets get on with the movie itself now, this particular iteration starts somewhat near the end of the movie. With our hero Dr Miles Bennell (McCarthy) recounts his story to a doctor, Dr Hill willing to listen to his story.
He begins by telling him that there was a strangely high number of cases of Capgras delusion happening in his town. (this is a delusion where you think someone close to you has become 'different' or isn't the same person, there's more to it than that but that's the gist of it).
Miles later bumps into Becky Driscoll (Wynter) an old flame, typically she's been divorced, a cousin of hers believes her uncle Ira has also been replaced.
His friend & psychiatrist (Kauffman) butts in, to suggest it could have just been the start of mass hysteria. Such as one person hearing something then believing it's happening to them spreads like wildfire.

Placated Miles returns home, that night a friend of his Jack finds a body which is almost an exact replica of him, yet its not quite fully formed. They find another one later on an exact copy of Becky, Miles gets Kauffman to come and take a look but when they do the bodies have mysteriously vanished, he accuses Miles of believing in the same hysteria.
The next night Miles, Jack, Becky along with Jacks wife stay together at Bennells. They once more find copies of themselves emerging from giant seed pods in Miles greenhouse (an amusing note here, these pod are used in many films and TV series's as props or background decoration such as Gremlins 2 and Eerie Indiana). They finally come to the conclusion that these pods are copying people when they sleep, when Miles attempts to contact further higher authorities he is told all lines are busy.
They send Jack and Teddy to a neighboring town to seek help with their predicament. Moving around town Miles and Becky soon come to realise most if not all of the town has been replaced. They go and hide out at Miles office where they try to spend night staying awake.

They are alerted by loud vehicle noises which when they look outside they see large trucks delivering loads of the pods. They overhear that these are to be distributed to nearby towns in an effort to take them over too. Both Kauffman and Jack have been turned into pod people now, they attempt to deliver new pods to Bennells office to take them over.
They both try to convince Miles and Becky that the pods are for the best, they come from outer space and take over any planets by copying their inhabitants. Once all copied the now emotionless people exist in harmony free from war and conflict. Miles see's this as an affront to humanity getting into a fight with Kauffman and the others him and Becky escape his office. They pretend to be copied by appearing emotionless, however Becky exposes them as she accidentally calls out when a dog is almost run over, they are once again chased.

Tired and exhausted both of them manage to get to and hide inside a mine on the outskirts of town. Delirious from tiredness Miles hears some noise fearing he goes to check what it is. He see's another farm where people are loading trucks with the giant green seed pods. He runs back to Becky who's acting a little strange, when he receives an emotionless kiss from her he realizes that she has been taken over while he was gone.
She quickly reveals him to the others and he runs off from her, again he's chased by a giant mob again. He makes his way to a highway seeing a truck of pods on its way out of town. He does the line most famous in this film to all the people around.
"They're here already!, you're next, you're next!"

I don't usually spoil things here unless films are seriously bad and not worth watching but this film is so old and still worth watching even if you know the ending.
So the flashback ends with Miles back in the office with Dr Hill, despite all the describing Dr Hill still does not believe Miles. Dismissing his story as nightmarish ramblings.
That is until the truck driver is brought in after being in a crash with people saying the man had to be dug out of loads of plant like pods. Believing Miles now they call the authorities and have the town sectioned off with barricades.
This version tells a somewhat hopeful story that they managed to stop the invasion before it got to far, it keeps some of the paranoia that we could lose our individualism but ties it up in a bow that if we keep fighting we'll be okay.
50's films were rarely bleak this is still an era in filming where a lot of stories were still hopeful even in the face of adversity, no truer than in early american films too, I feel this ages the film and it does show (though the original cut did not have the truck crash just loads of pod bearing trucks driving past Miles). We will see in the future remakes if this stance holds up!
THN gives Invasion of the body snatchers 1956, a strong 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Stars: Leonard Nimoy, Donald Sutherland

Budget: $3.5 million

Directed By: Philip Kaufman

The first remake of the first film over twenty years later, still based on the novel of the same name too. Making this is the second attempt at telling the story in what has very recently become the the fifth time.

This film was heavy in it's cast too, with the likes of Leonard Nimoy of star trek/Spock fame. Donald Sutherland with a massive acting career under his belt, a young up and coming Jeff Goldblum as well as Angela Cartwright.
Both Siegel and McCarthy have brief cameo's in this movie too, i like that as it shows respect for what came before.

The direction of this movie is directly bleak compared to the first right from the start also much much more serious in tone that the 1956 counterpart. It's not told in flashback this time, We are told right from the beginning that the gelatinous stuff that falls from the atmosphere is the alien organism and that it has fled a dying planet. It lands on plants and takes the form of a small pod with a pink flower. The roles of people in this film are much more of their time as well. with the women in good jobs or just not screaming to be saved every five minutes.
For a start Becky Driscoll is now Elizabeth and she's a lab technician at San Francisco health department, Bennell now Matthew instead of Miles is her co-worker. Instead of Kauffman, we have David Kibner (played by Nimoy) who has a bigger role of having the both the doctor side of Miles character and psychiatrist character now rolled into one.
The Belicec's are basically the same husband and wife friends with also slightly enhanced roles, played by Cartwright and Goldblum. One of the major changes in this film and something that still freaks me out even watching it to this day is the screams of the cloned pod people. It's so freaky and scary, it's also something i'm sure has moved to all of the other remakes from this point too.

As stated this film starts as it means to go on with a bleak story of the Alien gel coming to earth. If possible even with the last film being in black and white, the washed out monochrome of this film lends to the darker tone of this remake. The gel settles on plants and begins to imitate it by taking on a small pod like form with a pink flower.
Driscoll finds one of these plants and takes it home, where she and her boyfriend (Geoffrey) find it an odd little specimen. The two are obviously in love too. Later that night they both go to bed.
In the Morning its clearly obvious that something has happened to Geoffrey in the night too as he seems very cold and distant towards Liz. She does dismiss it it and goes about her daily business.
She talks to her Co-worker Bennell about it that day, a little concerned he gives her the address of where David Kibner is giving a talk on his new book. She explains to him the situation, he puts it down to her wanting to take her relationship slower.

Jack Belicec calls Bennell to come to his wife's (Nancy) mud parlour where they have found a half deformed/malformed version of himself. piecing the information together with what Elizabeth said earlier he rushes to her place.
Just in the nick of time too, as he finds a semi formed duplicate of her there too. Rushing to the police to warn them, they actually get them to come and check both Jack and Liz's duplicates. Unfortunately they have vanished.
Elizabeth find evidence that it may be the flower she found, checking the databases she finds no traces of the flowers genus at all. The movie very quickly escalates from here, as Matt tries unsuccessfully to warn other places. When they are nearly all copied again in the night they find out the local police are also duplicated.

They all go on the run but slowly and surely are all assimilated one by one until only Bennell and Elizabeth remain. They meet back up with Nancy who they originally think is taken, she's not she's just been acting without emotions to blend in. They all do as she does but Elizabeth gets freaked out when she see's a dog with a mans face alerting others to their status.
they get separated from Nancy but manage to escape on a truck, where turning bad to worse is stocked full of pods. Intending them to be shipped worldwide now, while Matt goes to look for a boat the can escape on Liz can no longer hold out and falls asleep. Matt arrives just in time or perhaps to late and see's Liz's copy arise, distraught he burns the warehouse down.
He's chased by some pod people but manages to hide under the docks, though they taunt him by saying he can't hold out forever and will fall asleep.

I won't spoil the end of this one but it's bleak and has an amazing little twist just to show it too, I love it and hate it at the same time. It's one of them rare occasions that a remake is better than the original.
THN awards the 1978 IotBS's a great 5 out of 5 political stuff aside it is still tense, paranoid and just as scary as it's ever been.