The Vast of Night (2020)

[Dr. Whom]

This is a homage/revisiting of the classic 50s B movies and TV series. The setting is standard B-movie: teenagers in a small desert town in the 50s stumble on a mystery.

In this movie all is in the atmosphere: nothing much is shown, in fact, nothing very much happens, the suspense is all in the suggestion. This is not a movie where the protagonists have to defeat an opponent, get a McGuffin, or save the earth from a whirly thing in the sky with a light beam coming out of it. Instead you get a gradually unravelling mystery. There is something Lovecraftian about it in this way.

Doing unseen horror is a challenge. Usually movies that hide their monsters, still tend to build towards a reveal, which often as not, is a disappointment. Vast of Night pulls this off, and is not afraid to leave some of the questions unanswered at the end.

Although the movie acknowledges its sources freely (it is a framed as a kind of 'Twilight Zone' TV show) it has an original take on the clichés of the genre, and doesn't hesitate to break the rules. For instance at several points, it goes for a 'tell, don't show' approach when the screen fades to black, and we have just a character telling their story.

Both Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz are great as Fay and Everett, which is good, as there are hardly any other characters in the movie. It is not without its flaws, and it has some pacing issues, but if you liked 'It Follows', this is definitely one for you.

[Rev. Powell]

I watched this with no preconceptions as part of a film festival and thought it was extremely boring, but with good camerawork. I was very surprised when other critics gave it good reviews, and it even got a distribution deal. Oh well, I'm glad other people enjoy it.

[Dr. Whom]

Well, that is the basic weakness of this kind of movie. Either you get in the mood, and you think it is brilliant (which I do), or you don't and then it is a very boring experience. In this case there is the added factor that it is a debut movie on a shoestring budget. The director wisely decided to concentrate on getting the atmosphere right. The downside is that, when that does nothing for you, there isn't a lot else to hold the attention.
That is also why I compared it to 'It Follows'. I absolutely loved that, but I can understand people who think it is the most boring horror movie ever.

[Jim H]

Well, that is the basic weakness of this kind of movie. Either you get in the mood, and you think it is brilliant (which I do), or you don't and then it is a very boring experience. In this case there is the added factor that it is a debut movie on a shoestring budget. The director wisely decided to concentrate on getting the atmosphere right. The downside is that, when that does nothing for you, there isn't a lot else to hold the attention.
That is also why I compared it to 'It Follows'. I absolutely loved that, but I can understand people who think it is the most boring horror movie ever.

It Follows is a good comparison actually.  I was able to get into both and quite enjoy the "personal telling a story" kind of atmosphere, when it's done right, and I did like most of the first roughly 2/3s of the film...  That said, I really do think The Vast of Night would have been much better served as a Twilight Zone episode (maybe a 50 minute one).  It's premise gets stretched thin by the end.