The Vast of Night is wrapped like an episode of the anthology television series titled Paradox Theater, complete with opening narration and title cards that provide a strong reference to The Twilight Zone. Several times, including at the opening, the audience was positioned as if they were watching in front of the old model television. Packaging is without substance. Just a gimmick. While the entire film is like a talky and low-key version of The Twilight Zone, but with alluring results, the alias is not just an empty tribute.
Why talky? Because from the beginning, when Everett (Jake Horowitz) the radio announcer stopped for a moment at the stadium which would later be filled by the majority of Cayuga residents, New Mexico, who flocked to watch the inaugural basketball match of the season, the film immediately staged the audience with rows of fast, sometimes overlapping, as taken from the titles of Richard Linklater’s works. Best Movie Site
Together with Fay (Sierra McCormick), the switchboard operator who was eager to play his new recording device, Everett walked out of the stadium, talking about many things from neighboring gossip, the problem of wiring in a school that was bitten by a squirrel, to the scientific discussion about the posibility of advanced inventions in the future (his story set in the 1950s), such as electric highways, tubular transportation, and one thing that according to Fay was impossible: mobile phones.
Indeed their chat is just a time filler. Without impact on the main story, without a veiled message (after the main conflict entered, the conversation briefly touched on the issue of racism and post-Cold War paranoia), although it served to give a more picture of the non-romantic relations of the two protagonists.
Everett and Fay started each other’s work. The night rolled on as usual, until Fay caught a mysterious audio frequency, which prompted them to investigate, while at the same time, some strange phenomena experienced by the residents of Cayuga who did not watch the basketball game. Debut director Andrew Patterson unravels the mystery through a 10-minute single take, which results in a gradual building of tension that is increasingly gripping, while McCormick sells confusion as well as anxious character anxiety. Movie Review
Assisted by cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz, Patterson likes to play with shooting methods, including when the camera moves out of Fay’s office, sweeping through empty city streets that builds an impression of isolation that can be found occasionally in The Twilight Zone, in and out of a thundering basketball stadium, before arriving at Everett radio station. The moment – plus the special effect at the end of the duration – is an exhibition of the technical achievements of the film amidst limited costs. Likewise, when Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer made the sound of applause as a part of music. All represent the ambition of this young filmmaking team to give birth to stylish, inexpensive films.
The investigation of the main character was assisted by two sources: Billy (voiced by Bruce Davis), a former military member, and an old woman named Mabel (Gail Cronauer). Throughout the conversation, the figure of Billy was never seen. We only hear his voice over the telephone, while the camera focuses on Everett’s expression, while occasionally moving to Fay, who is captured in close-up. In fact, not infrequently we only see a black screen, giving birth to atmospheric nuances that reflect a sensation similar to radio drama. Imagination of the audience is allowed to move wildly following the story of a conspiracy theory style that is never boring.
The question posed is, “Are these stories true?”. Is Billy telling the truth or just being a prankster? Did Mabel speak the truth or was it just an old woman who lost her sanity, also misinterpreted her son’s autism? These mysteries bind attention, as we slowly gather clues, which actually lead to one answer. The answer in the ending, which unfortunately failed to make the redemption worth it. As if the manuscript made by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger said, “You want to see” that thing “right? Here, we give you one ”, without any processed tension, terror, or sense of wonder (which is likely to be the filmmaker’s biggest target, as a tribute to Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Top Movie
The Vast of Night is a love letter. Love letters for science-fiction treats, also love letters for the art of recording sounds. There was even a detailed scene where Everett repeatedly unpacked tape tapes. Maybe that’s also the reason why the film is so “chatty”. The Vast of Night is not a spectacle that will terrorize, frighten, let alone spur the heart of the audience through the story of a large-scale alien invasion. Imagine you are sitting with friends, hanging out drinking, smoking, joking, then one of your friends starts telling an abnormal story that is very interesting.