These were the best films released (in one way or another) during the... We rank the 25 best-reviewed horror films of the 2010s. Such a well written, superbly acted, well shot, excellently directed, lo-fi piece of sci-fi! Super good, two thumbs up! Patterson keeps things very simple and doesn’t rely on special effects, instead showing a confidence in his material and as much as this may irk some viewers just remember... sometimes less is more. Only $5 for 3 … Set in a small town in 1950’s America, Patterson’s film pays homage to classic science-fiction yarns of old like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or tapping into Tv shows like The X-Files and (far more obviously in its opening shot) The Twilight Zone. (Sixteen-year-old whiz kid Fay predicts electric roads and vacuum tube travel are totally going to happen by 1990; cellphones, however, she deems impossible.). This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. (Also in Slamdance Film Festival.) But there is still enough good in here to recommend it. The photography, the dialog and the acting are first rate. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. © Copyright 2020 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. The effect is, well, alienating. Once Miguel I. Littin-Menz’s camera rests on the incredibly talented McCormick (“Some Kind of Hate”) at her switchboard, finally letting the audience soak in her horn-rimmed glasses and intelligent eyes, she launches into a 10-minute single-take scene where she takes calls, plugs in wires, gets connected and disconnected, and begins to suspect that something isn’t right in sleepy Cayuga. I just finished reading Shroud of Night, which was amazing btw. Every scene has been staged and shot with intelligence, intent, inventiveness, and a sense of play. You’ll have heard the saying “sometimes less is more” and never has that been more true when it comes to debutant director Andrew Patterson’s impressive low-budget, sci-fi gem, The Vast Of Night. The ending seems very open like they could make a sequel to it, with a decent portion of the Unsung surviving and Phaerk'ir being captured by the Emperor's Children kinda leaving a cliffhanger of sorts. October Horrors 2020 – The Lost Boys (1987), Comic Book Preview – Detective Comics #1029, X-Men: Dark Phoenix director to write and produce Battlestar Galactica film, Save Yourselves! For a while, he doesn’t even film their faces, just the back-view as Everett chain-smokes and Fay races to keep up with him, ponytail swinging, and clutching her new tape recorder. With great style and technical bravura, the film takes us on a fairground ride, running on rails right up to the final question. Yet, the ambition behind it is just as impressive — as is the crew’s creativity at spinning financial limitations into magic. Dropped phone calls, AM radio signals, secret reels of tape forgotten in a library, switchboards, crossed patchlines and an anonymous phone call lead Fay and Everett on a scavenger hunt toward the unknown. The tale is engrossing, reminding us that even the simplest technologies we take for granted now have an element of magic to them. Although the narrative trajectory may be familiar, the specific path taken by director Andrew Patterson feels fresh. Unfortunately, it doesn't maintain the momentum or intrigue that it builds up during the. When Everett boasts that he’s getting out of Cayuga for a city, Patterson watches the way Fay’s smile wavers. The look and feel of the movie fit the time period very well, and the performances were strong overall. She’s also slated to appear in the much-anticipated sequel to Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America, alongside Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Wesley Snipes, and the vast … Even though she’s as clever as he is, perhaps even moreso, the girl can’t imagine getting to have a better life than working on a bigger switchboard, a job that we know soon won’t exist. Sacha Baron Cohen's sequel to the blockbuster comedy "Borat" has lots of cringe-worthy moments, but few laughs. While a sequel is an intriguing concept, there is always the looming possibility of it falling into the terrible-comedy-sequels camp. Get a list of the best movie and TV titles recently added (and coming... Music title data, credits, and images provided by, Movie title data, credits, and poster art provided by. IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. They’re black, or they’re female, and no one’s ever bothered to listen to them before. Not quite sure where all the hype is coming from, but it definitely doesn't deserve it. Except for the town’s two brightest kids, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and Fay (Sierra McCormick), who are strolling through the empty darkness to their respective jobs as a radio DJ and switchboard operator, the two ways this Eisenhower-era small town keeps connected to the outside world. Has there been any word on that? At the midpoint, Patterson wows with a tracking shot that seems to race a half-mile down a quiet street, take a left-hook through a parking lot, sprint through an ongoing basketball game, and zip up the crowded bleachers before plunging out of a window. What a waste of 3/4 of a potentially great film. The audience can sense the cast and crew’s verve to not just complete the picture, but pull it off with style. “The Vast of Night” is all about execution. However, audiences who’ve lived in small towns, themselves — or towns that felt small, no matter the size – will appreciate the nuances in “The Vast of Night’s” script that give it emotion and weight. Trailer: Watch out for Alien Pouffes, ‘Devastation Class’ Writers Discuss Equality in New Young Adult Book Bound for the Big Screen, Luca Guadagnino talks possible family project, debt of gratitude to TIFF, Zeitgeist Films, Kino Lorber Take North American Rights to Sundance Winner ‘Acasa, My Home’ (Exclusive), Chinese War Film ‘Sacrifice’ Makes $11 Million Start in Cinemas, Spike Lee to Receive American Cinematheque Award, Matthew McConaughey Explains How 20-Month Hiatus From Hollywood Led to “McConaissance”. It’s effective razzle-dazzle that will probably get the young Oklahoman hired to make something 20 times “The Vast of Night’s” budget. That said, it works, sucking you into its “vast night” and taking us all back to an innocent time where the future was endless possibilities, “radio” was how a small town kid punched his “ticket out of here,” and TV took you to “another dimension…the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.”. Patterson trusts that chemistry will compensate for a gentle thriller that chooses to impress with ingenuity and charm instead of special effects. And there’s a pattern to the callers who ring up the radio station to tell Everett everything they know. Sierra McCormick Biography: In Her Own Words – Exclusive Video, News, Photos, ‘The Vast of Night’ Star Jake Horowitz Signs With Hyperion. The film looks good. This one chooses the most obvious conclusion possible. This is like the tastiest looking food that when you actually eat it the aftertaste is bitter. I kept waiting for a twist but just got credits. Video Exclusive: Sierra McCormick Says She’s Become A ‘Yoga Movie-Watching Vampire’ During Covid-19 Lockdown! SUBSCRIBE NOW. Its B-movie plot is so familiar that writers James Montague and Craig W. Sanger unabashedly frame the story as an episode of a TV show called “Paradox Theater,” an on-the-nose “Twilight Zone” imitation that’s the closest the film gets to nostalgia.