Zo's Reviews: The Vast of Night

 


The Vast of Night is the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson and is a sci-fi/horror thriller about a small town in the 50's where a strange signal is captured by a young switchboard operator and a local radio host. The pair then decide to go investigate the signal and find others who are also being influenced by it. The film stars Sierra McCormick as Fay, the switchboard operator, and Jake Horowitz as Everett, the radio host, and they are phenomenal as they race through this one single night in their small New Mexico town to figure out just what is going on.

To begin, I'll say there's nothing really I disliked about this movie. The color gradient looked a bit weird at times, but it wasn't enough to distract me. That's it. That's the bad. Now to rant about the good...

The acting in this film is just amazing. Both Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz have amazing back and forth and chemistry on film. The way they interacted made me feel like they had known eachother for years, as their characters had. It felt very organic and very real the way they talked. I want to point out that another actor, Gail Cronauer, has this intense and amazing monologue during the second act that kept me glued to my screen. She is a incredibly good and I cannot believe I never knew about her until now. Another great performance was done by Bruce Davis as Billy, but you never see him, you just hear his voice as he calls in to the radio station. That takes real skill to really get under my skin with just a voice.

The way this movie was filmed was extremely impressive. There are these long takes that make the film feel realistic and draws you right into their world. Everything, like the conversations I mentioned earlier, felt organic and real. There are very few takes and I think that's due to the fact that this film had a very small budget and the director did what he could to make it work. The fact that the actors and crew did so well speaks volumes about the entire team and their dedication to this film.

Now I wouldn't say this movie is straight up horror, there are definitely some very eerie moments that got under my skin and there is some real tension here as you're trying to figure out what's going on, but the film is beautifully crafted, it's got some amazing performances, the script is solid, and the direction is masterful. There is also copious amounts of Twilight Zone love throughout. This is a beautiful film that is certainly a contender for my film of the year. For that I'm going to give it...

FINAL SCORE: A

If you want to read more about this film, check out Charlotte's spoiler filled review over at Horror Bound. Here's the link: The Vast of Night Review on HorrorBound. Go check it out!

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