In the Tall Grass

Vincenzo Natali’s "In the Tall Grass": The Horror Behind the Stalks

Netflix’s 2019 chiller In the Tall Grass didn’t just sprout from Stephen King and Joe Hill’s 2012 novella—it grew from director Vincenzo Natali’s long-standing obsession with claustrophobic horror. latestnetflix.com's read is that the film, which traps siblings Cal and Becky (Harrison Gilbertson and Laysla De Oliveira) in an endless Kansas field, became a test of how far Natali would push his cast into the weeds—literally.

A Field of Nightmares

The movie’s central location—a single, towering grass field—was both a logistical nightmare and a character in itself. Natali, known for his work in confined spaces (Cube, Splice), leaned into the challenge, shooting the entire film in a real, 10-acre field in Ontario. The grass, standing over six feet tall, swallowed the actors whole, creating an eerie, disorienting atmosphere that required GPS trackers to keep the crew from getting lost . In interviews, Natali described the field as a "labyrinth," where the cast had to rely on each other to navigate—mirroring the film’s themes of isolation and paranoia .

The shoot wasn’t just mentally taxing; it was physically grueling. De Oliveira, who played the pregnant Becky, revealed in a Fantastic Fest Q&A that the field was infested with ticks, spiders, and even snakes. "We’d find them in our shoes, in our hair," she said, adding that the crew had to shake out their costumes daily . The heat and humidity only amplified the discomfort, with temperatures often exceeding 90°F (32°C). Despite the conditions, the cast embraced the chaos, with Patrick Wilson (who played the sinister Ross) joking that the field was "the most dangerous co-star" he’d ever had .

King, Hill, and the Horror of Collaboration

In the Tall Grass marked a rare collaboration between Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill, who co-wrote the original novella. Natali, a self-professed King fan, admitted the pressure to adapt their work was intense. "I didn’t want to disappoint them," he said in a Fantastic Fest interview, noting that he stayed faithful to the story’s core while expanding its mythology . The film’s ending, which diverges slightly from the novella, was a point of contention among fans, but Natali defended it as a necessary evolution. "Horror is about subverting expectations," he argued, hinting that the field’s supernatural pull was always meant to be cyclical .

The collaboration extended to the cast, who bonded over the film’s surreal premise. De Oliveira and Gilbertson, who played siblings, spent weeks rehearsing their characters’ fracturing relationship, often improvising scenes to capture the raw tension of being lost in the grass . Wilson, meanwhile, relished the chance to play a villain, describing Ross as a "man who’s lost his humanity" . The ensemble’s chemistry was palpable, even if the field itself tried to sabotage it.

A Divisive Harvest

Critics were split on In the Tall Grass, with some praising its atmosphere and others dismissing it as a missed opportunity. The film holds a 37% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers noting its strong visuals but uneven pacing . French outlet SensCritique was harsher, awarding it a 4.8/10 based on nearly 3,800 votes, calling it "a decent idea drowned in repetition" . Natali, however, stood by the film’s ambition. In a 2024 Fantasia Festival interview, he reflected on its legacy, comparing it to Cube in its exploration of "how spaces can trap and transform us" .

For fans, the film’s cult status is secure, thanks in part to its nightmarish ending and the behind-the-scenes stories of its chaotic shoot. Whether it’s the eerie trailer (which teased the field’s supernatural pull) or the cast’s tales of battling nature, In the Tall Grass remains a testament to Natali’s willingness to wade into the unknown .