In The Tall Grass (2019) Movie Review

In The Tall Grass (2019) Movie Review) IMDB

In The Tall Grass (2019) movie poster

By Netflix - Google, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61796066

Stephen King has written some great stories through the years, many of them have been made into movies, but not all of them successfully. How did Netflix do with their adaption of he and his son’s novella ? Let’s find out.

A man and woman are driving down the road in the middle of a vast sea of fields in Kansas. The woman is visibly pregnant. They need to stop on the side of the road because she has become nauseous. During the stop they hear a cry for help from a young boy who says he is lost in the tall grass beside the road. Can they save him from the grass ? You hear his mother yell at them to not come in. They go in after him. And so it begins.

While there is no maze per say in this movie, the tall grass is difficult to walk through and continually makes the characters lost no matter which direction they move. Well, there are a few points in the maze like tall grass that work as anchor points - you can find that out in the movie. The couple finds out they are not alone in the tall grass, but they are having trouble leaving it no matter what methods they try. This is Vivarium, but in a field instead of in a housing complex.

The acting is good enough. The story is interesting. The feeling of being lost is conveyed well with the cinematography. But, overall it does not quite land in the must see category. The poster is excellent. I really like the upside down photography - it fits the movie well.

I give it an 6.3/10 for having a great premise that was entertaining. I bet the book is better though.

Here is the trailer for the movie:

Andron (2015) Movie Review

What happens when you combine elements from Cube, The Matrix, The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games and The Running Man into one movie? Do you get the greatest sci-fi film of all time ? Let’s find out. I also want to mention that I found 2 different versions of the movie poster. One with Alec Baldwin and one without. Which do you prefer ?

Did it make my list of The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters ? Would I have mentioned this post if it had not ?

Andron (IMDB)

Andron movie poster
Andron Movie poster

Also known as Andron: The Black Labyrinth the film starts with people awakening in an unknown place without any memory of why they are there (my reference to the the film Cube). The place is very dark and industrial and set-up in a very confusing maze like fashion (The Maze Runner). Slowly the group (called contenders) finds out that only 1 of them can escape the maze and win their freedom (The Hunger Games). The game is controlled by evil corporations in the future (this takes place in the year 2154) and they are connected into a neural network (The Matrix). Oh, and the world is watching (The Running Man). We also have stars Alec Baldwin and Danny Glover who are definitely not just cashing a paycheck in this one. Definitely not. So then, this IS the greatest movie you have never seen right ? I just hadn’t heard of it before because it’s a hidden gem ????

No

It’s terrible. With bad effects, numerous plot holes, bad acting and really no character that you want to cheer for or against. The bad guys go down like Storm troopers in outfits made by your aunties crafting group. The special effects give special a bad name. If you want to hate watch this, make sure you find it streaming for free. I will say that the difference between what you think about the movie after watching the trailer versus watching the actual movie are wide. Watch the trailer below and you might think this movie is worth watching….it’s a trap. It makes me wonder if the trailer is a meta way of experiencing Andron. Like by watching it, it tries to entice you into the labyrinth of watching the actual movie. And you might think. Wait, that makes no sense. Exactly. Just like the “plot” of this movie.

AVOID. 3/10. This movie does make my 10 Unbelievably Bad Maze Movies to Never, Ever Watch.

My recommendation is, if you want to enjoy this movie read the reviews on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes rather than actually watch it. It is rated (as of this writing) at 2.7 and 0% respectively. Here is one of my favorite reviews which is short but to the point and I can only I assume was made on an anonymous account so nobody could track who had actually watched the movie:

“I wish I could unwatch this.” - Rotten Tomatoes User

Mazes and Monsters (1982) Movie Review

Tom Hanks is an acting legend. He is the winner of multiple Oscars (for Forest Gump and Philadelphia) and has been in some all time classic movies, like Saving Private Ryan, Cast Away, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle , Apollo 13 and Big to name a few. The first time I saw him was on the tv show Bosom Buddies which I vaguely remember liking as a kid, but that in hindsight I wonder how good the show would look to my adult eyes. Well during that same time period Tom Hanks filmed his second movie ever, the made-for-tv movie Mazes and Monsters. So how is this TV movie from 1982 starring Tom Hanks ? I mean Tom Hanks is in it, it must be good, right ?

Mazes and Monsters (IMDB)

Mazes and Monsters movie poster

Mazes and Monsters premiered on TV just after Christmas in 1982. For some historical context, this was a time when Dungeons & Dragons was becoming very popular (and in researching this, this game changes in popularity often) and the movie tried to play off of that. This was also a time when parents started to become worried about demonic influences in games/tv/video games that eventually led to congressional hearings ten years later.

The movie revolves around 4 college friends who play M&M together. One night they vote to play their next game inside the local caverns to add some excitement to the game. Of course things don’t go as planned, monsters begin appearing in dreams, and one of the players gets lost in the caverns (they are like a maze). Eventually the police begin searching for missing player but the caverns are difficult to search….

But this movie is NOT about some plot, it is about a moral that the viewer must learn and that is - playing Mazes and Monsters (or in real life D&D) leads to dangerous and disturbing behavior (see what I did there, D&D) in players and mental health problems. Parents, be careful in what you allow your children to play/watch.

For Tom Hanks, this was his 6th ever credit as an actor, right after some single episode work on Taxi and Happy Days, and before a 3 episode run on Family Ties. But by March of 1984, 15 months after this TV movie first aired Hanks got his big break in film by appearing with Daryl Hannah in Splash. As of this writing, Mazes and Monsters is considered the worst rated movie or show Tom Hanks was ever in !!! Don’t fight it, avoid this movie !!!!

I would give it a 4.2/10.

OR. You can check out this short video and be done with it:

The Maze (2010) Movie Review

I try to watch any movie that has a maze or labyrinth as an important part of the story. After reviewing over 125 maze movies I have seen everything from all time classics to terrible b movie horror. I mean who doesn’t love the great world of Ready Player One, Inception, or Pan’s Labyrinth ? Of course, not all movies are good, ...um could I interest you in 10 Unbelievably Bad Maze Movies to Never, Ever Watch ? So where does The Maze (2010) come out in the hierarchy of maze movies ? Let’s find out….

The Maze (2010) (IMDB)

The Maze 2010 movie poster

The Maze is a low budget horror film that follows a group of friends who decide it would be a good idea to play a game of tag in a corn maze at night. Unfortunately for them there is a killer in a red hoodie stalking the group of friends inside the corn maze. The nice part about the setting of the movie, besides being in a maze, is that the setting does mean you don’t always notice the films low budget. But those times are few and far between, because you will definitely notice the quality of the production. The premise for the movie is strong and has potential, and I like that the movie took place for an extended period of time in a maze !

As with most horror movies there is a twist at the end, but in this one you will see it coming. Overall, I would avoid this movie aggressively. If you want to spend time with it, this trailer below should be enough !! Yes, the quality of the trailer is poor, but that is what this movie deserves. If you didn’t click on my blog post above about 10 bad maze movies, a bit of a spoiler here, but this movie made the list. Thankfully this is only an 86 minute movie, so the watch passes quickly despite a simple plot. If you decide to hate watch it, it can typically be found on streaming for free !

I do think the movie poster is fun, especially with the subtitle of “This is no field of dreams” with the corn field (maze) in the background. I wonder if the movie would have been better if the stalker was not wearing a red Hanes hoodie and instead was an evil scarecrow or a supernatural demon with a pumpkin head. Yes, it changes the plot a bit, but a scarecrow blending in on a perch would lead to quite a few jump scares !!

I give it a 4/10. To find a maze horror movie worth watching check out my list below: