PLOT SUMMARY: Siblings Becky and Cal hear the cries of a young boy coming from the fields. When they stop by to inspect, they find themselves trapped with something evil.
Do you dream of an escape from the city? A break from all the hustle and bustle? A vacation where you are surrounded by nothing but nature?
If you do, DO NOT go to a place where there are grass fields. You never know what is hiding in there, or if is a landing site for aliens or if the grass is evil.
Yes, there is a new evil in town: grass.
In the Tall Grass, grabs your attention in the very first scene. You start to care about the characters, you're mystified by the happenings, and you genuinely want them to survive.
Unlike some thrillers which stretch the first act before coming to the good part of the story, this movie will have you in its clutches within ten minutes.
IN THE TALL GRASS Movie Plot
The movie begins with Becky and Cal driving to San Diego. Becky is pregnant and apparently, the father isn't in the picture which is why she's thinking of giving the baby up for adoption.
Cal is the doting brother who is ready to do whatever it takes to make his sister happy.
They pass by old buildings, come to an old church and Becky suddenly gets nauseous. Cal pulls up on the side of the road and she throws up.
As she's cleaning up after, the siblings hear cries of help coming from the field. It's a boy who says his name is Tobin.
Becky's first instinct is to help him, but then hears a woman's cries and suddenly Becky stops. Women's intuition perhaps? Cal, on the other hand, wants to show his bravado and steps in.
Becky follows quickly behind while calling emergency services. But a few steps in, and her cell phone's signal fizzles out.
Soon, she realizes nothing is right in the grass. For instance, Tobin appears to be nearby but isn't. Cal's voice keeps sounding distant and then near again.
Eventually, the siblings decide to jump as high as they can, over the tall grass. They do and are relieved to find they aren't so far apart. But then they jump again and Becky is horrified to find Cal's position has changed. Becky falls down and gets cramps in her belly.
Night falls and the siblings are still trying to reach each other.
Cal falls into a puddle of dirty water and Tobin appears to him with a dead bird in hand. He says that the grass doesn't move dead things.
He asks Cal to follow him and takes him to the middle of the field where there is a huge rock with engravings on it.
On the other side, Becky meets with Ross who claims to be Tobin's father and is desperately looking for his wife and son who went after his dog.
Becky is at first apprehensive of him, but as he tells her that he made it out of the fields and to the road but came back in for his family, she has no choice but to follow him. But soon she loses track of him.
Meanwhile, Tobin touches the rock and his hair stand on end. He urges Cal to touch it who clearly doesn't want to. Then Tobin says his sister is going to die and Cal rushes back when he hears her cries.
Becky is attacked by an unknown figure in the grass.
The next morning, we meet Travis who is going along the same route the siblings had taken. He's searching for them and stops by the church when he sees their car parked.
He enters the field and hears Tobin who takes him to Becky's corpse. As he grieves, Tobin disappears.
The next morning, Tobin is outside the fields with his family. Hearing the cries of a man, who is actually Travis, the dog rushes in and Tobin behind it. Natalie of course follows her son in and Ross has no choice but to go in as well, though he seems peeved.
Night falls and Ross comes to the rock and touches it. Suddenly, the grass blades wrap around him and it seems he has gained some sort of power.
Morning returns and Becky and Cal reenter the fields following Tobin's cries. Once there, the siblings encounter Travis who is as confused as him at the timelines happening. They all meet only because Tobin's dog is dead and well, the dead don't move.
Travis comes up with the idea to carry Tobin on his shoulders so that he can look for a way out. He spots the church and they go toward it.
Becky's phone suddenly starts working and she receives a call from herself, warning to not let Cal hurt Travis.
Soon she suffers another cramp and we see grass blades entering her womb, going toward the baby. She faints and almost dies but Ross arrives just in time to resurrect her. He takes them to the rock when Tobin is unable to locate the church.
Ross becomes persistent that they all touch the rock and Cal almost gives in when Natalie appears forbidding them from trusting Ross.
Ross pretends to be innocent, then snaps Natalie's neck. The others run and somehow find a way to the dilapidated building that was once a bowling alley. Over there, Becky, Cal and Travis get into an argument while Tobin grieves for his mother.
While looking for a way out, Cal pushes Travis off the roof. Ross emerges and chases them. They see a type of portal through which the dog, alive again, is running through. One second he's on the road, the next, he's back in the fields.
Becky is shocked when Travis isn't with them and distances herself from Cal.
In the fields, Cal is attacked by Ross who tells him that no matter which direction he chooses, Ross would kill him in every timeline. He strangles Cal and we see other dead bodies of him lying beside his other-selves. It's been two months apparently and there are numerous bodies of everyone's other-selves.
IN THE TALL GRASS Ending Explained
Meanwhile, Travis has awakened and goes in search of Becky. In the fields, he apologizes for not taking responsibility for the baby, while Becky admits she was giving up the baby for adoption.
Before they can reconcile, Ross appears and tries to hurt Becky who barely manages to escape. It starts to rain and Becky goes into labour. Grass Head creatures appear and carry her to the rock which has markings regarding her pregnancy. She apparently gives birth but somehow land cracks to reveal thousands of skeletons beneath, clambering to the surface.
She awakens to find Cal sitting by her side, giving her water and something meaty and crunchy to eat. It's disgusting but it is implied she is made to eat her baby. In the next instant, she finds it is Ross who was pretending to be Cal.
One of his powers, perhaps?
Then that would mean that he was pretending to be Tobin when he asked Cal to touch the rock the first time.
And it must be him who was luring everyone back into the fields. Maybe.
Anyway, Travis appears just as Ross is about to kill Becky. Tobin arrives too and Ross pulls his son to touch the rock. Becky awakens, barely alive and saves Tobin but dies afterwards.
Travis kills Ross but realizes the only way out of this nightmare is to touch the rock. So he does, has weird visions behind a red screen. The next instant he takes Tobin to the portal and he is inside the church.
All Tobin is asked to do is to prevent the siblings from entering the fields.
It's morning and Becky and Cal stop by the fields. They are about to enter when Tobin rushes off to warn them.
Becky listens and stops Cal from being a hero and enter the field. The three of them drive off as Travis listens to them.
He collapses and seemingly dies in the field.
The end.
This movie has its thrilling moments but it is only later, when you begin to analyze, that somehow things don't make much sense. You want answers but all you have is your own opinions and analysis.
Is everything a metaphor? Is the church supposed to be good/heaven, and the fields hell where you have to live a nightmare over and over?
Otherwise why choose a church to be near the field?
What is the power of the rock? Why was Ross trying to get everyone to touch it?
Perhaps the rock brings out the evil in people. Ross was annoyed with his wife but surely must not want to kill her. After he touches the rock, he is freed from the restraints of good and gave in to his evil instincts.
But then what about Travis? Or was it that he knew he was dying, so he touched the rock, helped Tobin escape before his evil persona took over, then died?
So many questions. Hopefully one of these answers is right.
Scare scale: 4/5
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