When Stephen King fans hear that there will be a new TV show or movie based on his brilliant work, there's a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, King is so talented that his stories deserve to see the small and big screen as his characters and premises stand the test of time. On the other hand, fans have been disappointed time and time again, as the TV version of Under The Dome was underwhelming and some movies have been less than great.
In 2012, Stephen King and his son Joe Hill wrote a short story called In The Tall Grass, and this became a Netflix film in 2019. While both writers are incredibly talented and they have huge numbers of fans who look forward to their new books, there's a lot missing from this movie.
While there are some underappreciated Stephen King adaptations, In The Tall Grass is a forgettable movie. It doesn't have the powerful premise or interesting characters that some other Stephen King movies and TV shows have. While Pet Semetary has a wild idea that no one can ever forget, and 11.22.63 is clever, In The Tall Grass asks audiences to watch a movie that takes place among, well, tall pieces of grass, and this setting becomes old incredibly quickly.
It's hard to be freaked out by grass and that's one reason why In The Tall Grass fails. The grassy area becomes a time loop and while there are smart movies about time loops, this one is confusing. Becky DeMuth (Laysla De Oliveira)
is six months pregnant and driving in a car with her brother Cal (Avery Whitted). When they see Tobin Humboldt (Will Buie Jr), a boy, they go into the grass to help him out. Unfortunately, this means that the siblings meet Ross (Patrick Wilson) and Natalie (Rachel Wilson), Tobin's awful parents. But while it's clear that this is a super creepy couple, the movie is all about staring at people walking around with high grass around them. Even people who love spending a lot of time in nature or going for walks in the woods will be bored by this.
The movie's ending and characters are so flat that it's hard to enjoy this Stephen King adaptation. While Becky's boyfriend Travis McKean (Harrison Gilbertson) is the one who saves her and Cal, as he learns about the time loop and is able to halt Becky and Cal from going into the grass, this ending doesn't feel earned. Patrick is a generic evil character who gives Becky and Cal mean looks but doesn't feel as threatening as he should. While Misery is a great Stephen King movie, In The Tall Grass lacks the same character development and smart story. It's thrilling seeing Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) terrorize Paul Sheldon (James Caan). She's a real villain who feels horrifying. There also feels like there's too many characters. Even though there's just a handful, Cal seems like he's unnecessary and there is no real reason for him to be in the story. The movie could be streamlined by having Becky and Travis drive by and see Tobin in the grass. While this would mean that Travis couldn't warn Becky and Cal, there could still be another way to solve this problem and end the movie properly.
Ross really fails as a villain. When compared to other evil but silly movie villains, it's tough to understand Ross's motivation or why he's even there. Does he hang out in the tall grass waiting for people so he can trap them or murder them? While the movie might suggest this, this question isn't really answered, and the idea of grass being deadly is about as scary as an episode of Goosebumps. While people remember being freaked out by the monsters and scary stories in the R.L. Stine TV adaption when they were little, they can't say that it feels terrifying now, but at least Goosebumps has the benefit of being funny and corny/campy while feeling scary to children. In The Tall Grass doesn't leave much room for enjoyment.
In The Tall Grass doesn't really feel like it's about anything. Audiences find out that Becky was going to give her baby up for adoption, and she and Cal were headed on a journey to meet potential parents, and Becky realizes that she's ready to be a parent at the end of the film. But since audiences don't get to know Becky, Cal, or Travis very well, as they feel like one-note characters, it's hard to really care and be invested in th story. Fans of Stephen King definitely hoped for more.
