User Reviews

I can't remember the last time I watched a film as unique as 'The Vast of Night'. It's hard to think of a single film that I could fairly compare it to. And amazingly it worked. The film is enthralling to watch. Long close-up shots of characters simply talking on the phone should be unbearable to watch, but in 'The Vast of Night' I was captivated by them. This is partly down to some great acting, partly down to how well the dialogue is written, and partly because the mysterious story unfolding is mesmerising to watch.

This would not be an easy film to act in, because the actors aren't being given a lot to work with. Sure, they have some terrific dialogue to deliver, but they have to do so in a very confined scene throughout almost the entirety of the film, and with almost nothing else going on to divert the audience's attention. Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz absolutely nail their performances here. They deliver their lines at an incredibly fast pace, while still being very easy to listen to. These two have a big future ahead of them I suspect.

People are going to ask me about this film and I'm not sure exactly how I'm going to describe it to them. A description of this film could easily make it sound terrible, when in reality it is anything but. All I will say is make sure you see this film for yourself and form your own opinion. I highly recommend it.

Just yesterday's evening I turned yet another page on my journey through Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone", and even though I was anticipating "The Vast of Night", I did not predict it to be so pleasantly and thickly atmospheric, beautiful and just plain awesome, as well as inspired by everything that's twilight-zone-esque. So, fans of such vibes, assemble, because we got an unlikely modern gem on our hands.

Things that'll follow are impressive, and become even more impressive in the light of the fact that "The Vast of Night" is the very first voyage into cinema by its director Andrew Patterson and both writers, James Montague and Craig W. Sanger - three names to look forward to in the future. The cast is quite unknown as well, and the budget is micro, allegedly pulled together by the director. On the foreground of these factors, this already well-oiled lo-fi modern sci-fi classic-in-making glows even more brightly.

In the first couple minutes the movie makes it known its served as if it was an episode of a fictional 50's sci-fi fantasy TV show called "Paradox Theather", an obvious and acknowledged "The Twilight Zone" knock-off. The first act we spend following the lively and lovely main characters through their small home town of Cayuga (another nod to Rod Serling) - they are local radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) and young switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick). Quickly enough we see and feel the many qualities of "The Vast of Night" that'll stay with us till the end. One of them is the setting of 50's, which is fulfilled with great attention to detail, both visually and mentally, it's the time where small towns seemed more intimate and unified, and when future seemed like an endless and uncertain stream of far-reaching possibilities. Another point of great charm is the cinematography, perhaps one of my favorite examples of this art in a long time. There are many long takes, some mostly static, some moving one-takes, one of which might prompt a silent "whoa". The longest take was, I believe, about 9 and a half minutes long. Cinematographer M. I. Littin-Mentz ("Hands of Stone", "Resistance") has made the camera a presence of sorts, a force of intimacy and uneasiness. In regards of editing, there are some choices that might prompt some why's, but there's nothing that'd really take away or take out much of anything. The sum of the elements come out on the far positive side, providing an atmosphere that immerses, you'll be a citizen of Cayuga before You know it.

The main story kicks into gear at the start of the second act, as both our heroes encounter an eerie radio signal floating on the local waves, and start trying to unspool the slow descending mystery. "The Vast of Night" pays homage to multiple sci-fi and horror classics, yet it constantly feels original and inventive on its own, somehow mixing together sticky and sweet feeling of nostalgia with a breath of fresh creativity and originality, letting the latter lead the show at all times. Same can be said about the haunting original score, composed by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer, to whom this is also the very first endeavor in movies. The movie, for the most part, is essentially a talking piece, and the overall idea is as ominous and ambiguous as you'd probably guess, so action sci-fi fans and lovers of structured and concluded stories might find themselves frustrated.

Props also have to be given to the previously mentioned Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick. "The Vast of Night" is Jake's very first full feature acting debut, and I'd never guessed that while watching the movie, for both he and Sierra do a terrific job in their roles and carry on with the night's vibes in admirable synchronicity. I'm not the guy to know, but I felt like even the accents, the language and way of talking of the 50's was generally nailed.

It's one of those movies where it's better to go in blind, yet I believe it's healthy to estimate what not to expect - and so we've got that out of the way. As the credits were rolling, I found myself happily thinking that the sense of wonder still exists, there are secrets to uncover, and that creativity, as well as some forgotten and amazing vibes, is alive and well. My rating: 8/10.

Be it War of the Worlds, Twilight Zone or The Day the Earth Stood Still, this science fiction romp through a small fictional New Mexico town pays homage to them all. A fun little romp that even tips it's cap to Close Encounters. For those that crave lots of action, look elsewhere; for those of you who like a story and will allow it to develop, you won't be disappointed. This is a small cast gem.

One of the most important things in thrillers but even more so in horror movies, is that things happen at night. At least when it's dark (outside), because that is more likely to reel viewers in and make them easier to be susceptible to be afraid and scared.

Now this is more of Science Fiction touch, still works with many of the things I mentioned. Having said that, mostly this works in your head. There is not so much visually (scary), but what you hear and what you think and imagine happening. And maybe you're just imagening? Or our main characters are ... well played and acted, this is low budget and the pacing is not something everyone is willing to endure. Whoever is and likes that, will be thoroughly entertained though.

I thought it was well acted and the story well told, it could have been about 30 mins longer, slightly slicker in the way 80s movies set in the 50's were made with a bit more background to the characters or a plot twist.

Nowhere near as polished or as captivating as Fire in the Sky or Close Encounters but thats not a negative.

Anyone who likes the old Twilight Zones or good old fashioned storytelling will appreciate this so that rules out anyone with a short attention span or those that prefer big explosions and stunt action type movies.

Call me the weird one, but this movie is trippy. Watching the story go in and out of drone photography, blackouts, black and white to color was fascinating. The director made it work, the acting was intriguing, watching the teenage girl scurry from place to place and all the charm of a trusting small town, well-it I loved it. Very unique.

Engaging piece of science fiction, that uses material recycled many times in the past but still manages to escalate the viewers expectations and interest without becoming too melodramatic. Some of the cinematography was quite original and made a difference to the experience as a whole.

This movie truly is a love letter to movies from the 50s. You can tell the director/writer really cared about these old movies and tv shows. Which is why i was so excited going in to this movie. I saw that he had referenced lots of these old movies its subtle ways and i over that.

That is why i was really disappointed that i didn't enjoy it more.

I think this could have been vastly improved if it was just tightened up a little bit. I know it is only an hour and 30 long, which shocked my when i saw it because it felt like nearly 2 hours. The scenes kind of meander along at a sluggish pace with nothing rally happening. The first 20 minutes of this movie is a walk home from school. I am not exaggerating. It is just them leaving school and walking home for 20 minutes. Now i will say they try to keep it interesting with the shots and the dialogue is fine but it doesn't take away from that fact that its too long for such a simple scene. I guess you could argue that it is used to set the characters up but i got that with in the first like 3 minutes of meeting them.

I honestly think this would have been better as a 20-30 minute episode of The Twilight Zone. Even the 2019 version because there is a good idea somewhere in this movie. Moments had me intrigued, i wanted to know what was going on then you would be hit with nothing happening again. I understand the budget wasn't a lot and that probably contributes to this as they didn't have as much sets and locations.

The actors did a good job and they had a lot of work to do as like 90% of this movie is just them talking sometimes with no one else in the room so i think they did a good job.

The only reason that i think you should watch it is because there are good ideas in here and i think this writer/directer could make great films in the future. I think he did the best he could with the budget. Just bare in mind that is can drag.

This, for me, was a near perfect film. Although Its subject matter was of little interest to me, everything else from the score , the lighting the editing AND the magnificent performances were beautiful. The best i've seen for a while. It was a film with so much mood i was mesmerized after the initial 5 (annoying) minutes and was transfixed till the very end. Go see this little gem.

This movie has a definite "Stranger Things" vibe, with a little "Super 8" as well. The story is very similar to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I really like the continuous scenes with little editing, and the almost frozen stops that add to the dramatic effect of the dialog, with a barely noticeable whiff of David Lynch films.

You can see what they were trying to do, but this film is ultimately not satisfying. Not exactly terrible, but not good. A definite 5/10.

It meanders through a pretty dull, and over-used storyline using all the photography and dialogue tricks it can muster to make it seem more than the sum of its parts - but ultimately fails.

The dialogue is of the "quick fire" variety that is often seen as the sign of a good script, but here the dialogue is almost pure filler. It doesn't build the characters, it doesn't add anything to the story. It just fills the time. (budget-Tarantino style, and I do not use that as a compliment - for me he's the pinnacle of style-over substance film-making)

The much-vaunted, very long tracking shot half way through is "creepy" because it is shot as a "creature POV", which turns out to be a ruse as it is simply intended as an "artistic cinematographic shot" to tie together locations. So that's another bit of screen-time wasted. The lighting was certainly moody though, so some credit is due for the basics.

The ending when it finally came was very much a "who cares" moment for me. I didn't care about the characters, or what happened to them, or the rest of their stupid town.

Ultimately, this is yet another of those films that leaves too much to the imagination, and is a poorer storytelling experience for it.

Good acting though, I thought.

My wife and I watched this on Amazon streaming via Roku. It is set in New Mexico but filmed digitally in Texas and Oklahoma.

It looks like the late 1950s, when I was a young teenager, and they mention Sputnik which was a 1957 event. The movie opens with an extended scene at night of local residents going to the school gym for a basketball game, just to set the mood of the time, and it all feels authentic.

But things get going when the teenage girl goes to her job as phone switchboard operator and her good friend, a slightly older guy, goes to his music and talk show at the tiny local radio station. Some electricity goes out, some phone calls get disconnected, some strange sounds are heard, coming from the skys, and recorded. All leading up to a strong belief that alien beings are in the sky.

The movie is interesting and very well made, considering it had a tight budget and a short shooting schedule. The dialog is mostly interesting and the main actors are very good in their roles. It all takes place at night on one day which adds to the mystique.

In brief, this is very much (for mostly better, only a little not) a debut film made by a director who is hungry and more than ready to show us something we haven't seen before. Patterson does have a history in commercial work, so his stunning control of the wide angle frame (at least mostly in the first 20 minutes) isn't a surprise there. But what glued me in was how he had his two main actors (Horowitz and McCormick) deliver the rather lengthy and bordering on but not quite Nerd-screwball dialog, with speed and naturalism (I'm reminded of how Barry Sonnenfeld in interviews lately for his new book said he directs actors to talk faster so they're more realistic on camera and Patterson has that same impulse, but I digress).

What's marks that whole opening, leading up to when Evrett gets on the phone and on the air with that first caller who gives some... Perspective about that strange frequency or what have you that alarms Fay so much, is that the camera feels like another roaming character, but focused on these two as Everett brings Fay along and we immediately know who they are and what their connection is (or could be after some more time); he's cool, she's a bit more nerdy and inquisitive, but Patterson makes it feel like a mini-Altman film, with shots that linger a little longer than we're used to. At the same time he makes his own, unique aesthetic as he follows the two of them on their nighttime walk and talk, mostly not getting too close but so this dialog feels ethereal somehow.

That opening first act - which was one of the times in 2020 since the pandemic I really felt saddest I couldn't experience this in a theater (not to mention the expressive sound design, which is exceptional and creative and drives the idea of communication tools that is a theme of his film, on a McLuhan level) - is so good that the rest of the film cant quite live up to it. Don't get me wrong at all, the story that unfolds as these two kids with ambition and drive and a simple question of "what is going ON?" go on in this night to find out the origin of this signal, is captivating...

But it also turns a bit more into a filmed radio drama, with two (very well performed) monologues by that aren't shot with quite the same level of formal originality as before. And the ending is in a way disappointing simply because it's like the air is let out of the balloon and what we might obviously expect to happen comes to be. I also didn't care for the framing device of it being a "Paradox" theater production with a Serling voice to start it... I mean, we KNOW, dude. Dont remind us this would probably make for a better 35-40 minute Twilight Zone episode.

All the same, if you like your sci-fi with a bit less anxiety than what JJ Abrams puts out there, or want something by a director who has a real voice and knows how to turn the camera into a nearly spectral presence a times - that one shot that just glides over most of the town is incredible - one can overlook the slightly lost potential in the characters once the plot kicks in. I absolutely look forward to what this director does next (and these writers too while we're at it) as it's quite a compelling calling card.

'The Vast of Night' is an interesting low budget project which possesses style and atmosphere, but doesn't quite deliver its full potential. The opening sequence depicts a teenage switchboard operator and her radio DJ mentor strolling to their night-shift jobs in the small New Mexico town of Cuyaga. The citizenry are preparing for a high school basketball game, and this scenario allows the film-makers to demonstrate their flair and talent, even though this introductory passage is needlessly prolonged by inconsequential exchanges with random individuals. The story finally gets underway around the 25 minute mark when the switchboard operator hears eerie sounds over her equipment, receives a confused emergency call about a disturbing incident out on the highway, and seeks the DJ's advice. Having created an ominous atmosphere with nods at Roswell's UFO folklore and paranoia over government cover-ups, the pair follow clues to a momentous discovery.

The narrative arc has similarities to Spielberg's 'Close Encounters', while the mood owes more to 1950s Cold War era Sci-Fi movies and Rod Serling's Twilight Zone TV series. The film's chief weakness is an anti-climactic conclusion, but the vitality of the acting, direction and cinematography make up for this shortcoming, without ever pushing the project into the territory of unforgettable drama.

"The Vast of Night" was recently purchased by Netflix and so it should soon appear on the website. For now, it's playing the film festival circuit...and I saw it at the Philadelphia Film Festival. I am glad I did, as the movie really managed to produce a huge bang for very few bucks. To make up for the low budget, the movie is very dark and makes the most of creepy music and a creepy atmosphere.

The story is designed like an installment of a 1950s teleplay--a movie made for television. It opens on a television screen and soon the camera pans in and the movie begins in earnest. It is set in a tiny Texas town and stars mostly two folks, a young man and his teenage lady friend. The pair hear strange sounds at night that are unexplained...and the rest of the town never notices since nearly everyone else is at the local high school basketball game. What are the sounds and who is responsible? Watch the film!

The director is the star her as well as the folks who created the look of the picture. A must-see for young filmmakers who need to see how to make a very good film for next to nothing! In fact, a lot of big-name Hollywood filmmakers also might benefit from seeing this as well!

During a small fifties American town's big basketball game, the local DJ and the telephone operator pick up in a strange signal which they investigate.

Intelligent, beautifully written little sci-fi story which uses a great script and wonderful story telling to deliver a real charmer of a film. The 2 leads are first class and the 2 stories told by people with experience of the phenomenon are enthralling.

The actual film making in this movie is genius. It's unique and holds your attention from the first scene through the last. The town of Cayuga's name is a salute to Rod Sterling's production company. The radio station's call letters are WOTW. Everyone knows that there are no radio stations with W call signs west of the Mississippi River. This can only be a nod to War of the Worlds by HG Wells. There are probably other Easter eggs in the film as well. It is period production and acting in the best way possible.

The Vast of Night is truly a film for classic sci-fi lovers. As many other reviewers here have expressed, this is clearly not the kind of movie that a general audience expecting lots of action, plot twists, and visual effects will like. However, like sci-fi movies of its genre, it has been written for audiences that are willing to invest in a story where they are already familiar with what to expect from the beginning.

The movie itself starts with very little setup since it is assumed that the audience will already be very familiar with the classic trope. That is, two naive adolescents thrown into awakening about a future that is broader than they were ready to accept. The dialog is at times fast. But attempting to follow it is more critical to enjoying it than in most movies. The film itself is largely a homage to many classic sci-fi movies. As such, it is unlikely to please anyone looking for flashy gadgets, strange fantastical worlds, or fast paced action. However, if you already know and love classic sci-fi, and are still willing to accept it for what it is, you will more than likely to enjoy this movie too.

This movie jams a thirty minute story into ninety minutes. It starts off with an extended walk-and-talk dialogue between our main characters in their small New Mexico town. The conversation is hard to follow. Characters mumble and talk rapidly at a literally breathless pace. Seriously. The instant one character stops speaking -- even a beat or two before -- another character fires back at that same rapid pace. I was exhausted after the first fifteen minutes straining to sort out the conversation. / The soundtrack has some weird instrumental music choices which don't in any way evoke the atmosphere of a 50s sci-fi / Twilight Zone vibe that the movie makers were apparently striving for. It's like Creative Commons music that they picked up off the Internet for free somewhere. / The framing device -- setting up the movie as a sort of extended Twilight Zone episode -- leads to some bizarre directing choices. Sometimes the movie plays full screen, other times it shrinks it down to a black-and-white screen for no reason that matters. At one point the screen goes blank for an extended period, but the mundane dialogue continues. What was that about? I actually thought something had gone wrong with my TV. / The story is just a re-tread of Close Encounters, but without the big budget effects and mashed potatoes. There's a bit of X-Files-ish weirdness in the middle of the movie, but you can see where it's all leading long before you get there. / Honestly Youtube channels such as Dust are filled with better stuff than this movie and they manage to do it in a half-hour or less. I would recommend the similarly themed 2019 movie Cosmos instead. It's also a low budget movie -- not great -- but more interesting than The Vast of Night.

I really love this film ..the way it is shot ..the characters care very real . Mostly it is so simple .No crash bang wallop they just build up a feeling . It's very good ..Tim

So i'm a little bit out of picture here since my knowledge about the Twilight Zone or 50s science fiction scene in general is limited and inconclusive, but I enjoyed this film mostly because of its camera work and its score. The concept of this film is not something you're not unheard of, and the ending is predictable for the most part.

Given how low budget this film was, I'd say the final product is really impressive. you won't find yourself complaining about technical aspects -well maybe you do if you're not a fan of darkness- and direction, acting, light and sound departments and especially as I mentioned before, cinematography and score are all great. Overall, this is a good film, a one that pays homage to classic sci-fies and you will enjoy this a lot more if you are a fan of those classics and anble to understand the references in this film.

The movie starts out with an old TV set playing a knock off Twilight Zone episode, the movie we are watching is supposed to be some sort of twilight zone episode. Most twilight zone episodes clock in at around 25 minutes or so. This movie clocks in at about an hour and a half. This movie could be and should be a 25 minute episode. Scenes go on for FARRR to long in this movie with boring drawn out dialogue that attributes nothing to the story. Most of this movie seems pretty pointless. If it was 25 minutes it would be great! It's also pretty anti climactic nothing really happens... unfortunately But I really dig the vibe of this movie. I love the cinematography, the lighting and just the overall eerie tone of it. It's a 10 in that aspect. I wish I could say this had a lot of potential... but this story really just didn't go anywhere. Fooey