A stylish but self-indulgent alien invasion thriller set in the late 1950s. Currently screening on Amazon Prime, you’ve likely seen 2019’s THE VAST OF NIGHT advertised quite heavily on Amazon and the imdb (whose home page this film currently adorns), but I’d advise not to expect too much from it.
Director Andrew Patterson appears to have foreseen one of the major criticisms his film has received: that it’s little more than a feature length TWILIGHT ZONE episode. He acknowledges this by presenting the film as an episode of a TWILIGHT ZONE-ish TV program called “Paradox Theater,” seen (literally) through the screen of an old television set into which the camera frequently zooms. My other major criticism, that the film is essentially a short subject padded to feature length via lengthy dialogue exchanges, goes unaddressed.
One night in the late 1950s we meet the teenage DJ Everett, who broadcasts from a small Texas radio station, and his switchboard operator GF Fay. One night the latter picks up an odd frequency on which the voice of a mysterious woman claims to be calling from a cellar, where she’s allegedly been driven by a UFO. A bit later the station is contacted by an individual identifying himself as Billy, who confirms the woman’s claims about a UFO invasion.
A panic starts, with Everett convinced a communist plot is afoot and everyone else believing that aliens are attacking. Then the station gets another call, this one from an old woman who identifies herself as Mabel Blanch. She invites Everett and Fay to her home, located near the radio station, where Mabel discusses how “they” (i.e. aliens) get into our heads and cause us to do awful, destructive things. Everett doesn’t believe her, but is soon convinced by the increasingly odd occurrences around him…
This film is notably well made, but also quite stagey. The dialogue is extremely voluminous, with camerawork that functions largely as an impatient observer to all the chatter. The performance of Jake Horowitz as the motor-mouthed Everett is a constant annoyance, as his blathering takes up much of the film’s first half. It’s a relief when the monologueing duties are taken over by the more seasoned and less annoying Gail Cronauer as Mabel, who delivers an impressively controlled performance. The young Sierra McCormick also deserves credit for her work as Fay, essaying a manic yet sympathetic character (which makes it all the more inexplicable that she chooses to date Everett).
Director Andrew Patterson delights in shining bright lights into the camera, and at one point that camera leaves the radio station to embark on a highly expansive EVIL DEAD-like tracking shot that roves around the ground outside, enters a gym where a basketball game is in process and then heads back to the station. What purpose this shot might serve (outside showing off) I’m not sure.
The Spielbergian ending, at least, is strong. This is to say that the special effects packed final scenes aren’t too invigorating from a conceptual standpoint, but close things out on a fine note of moody apprehension.
Vital Statistics
THE VAST OF NIGHT
GED Media/Amazon Studios
Director: Andrew Patterson
Producer: Adam Dietrich, Melissa Kirkendall, “James Montague” (Andrew Patterson)
Screenplay: “James Montague” (Andrew Patterson), Craig W. Sanger
Cinematography: Miguel I. Littin-Menz
Editing: Junius Tully
Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Bruce Davis, Gail Cronauer, Cheyenne Barton, Mark Banik, Gregory Peyton, Adam Dietrich, Mallorie Rodak, Mollie Milligan, Ingrid Fease, Brandon Stewart, Kirk Griffith, Nika McKenna, Brett Brock