Prepare for Some Haunting Animation in ‘In the Tall Grass’ (Review)

Written by: Matt Molgaard

Directed by: Nadia Dubijansky and Alexii Muftoll

I’m 100-percent certain that this film is not intended to be viewed while in a sober mind set. To call In the Tall Grass artistic might be a genuine undersell. This is more like an intricate puzzle we’re left to try and solve in seven minutes, with a piece or two – unbeknownst to the viewer – completely missing.

But there are a few things I thought were wonderfully executed. The moments of dread, when we’re still trying to figure out our characters. When we’re still trying to figure out who the bad guy is, and just how trapped we are inside the mind of one man (who seems to be agoraphobic to terrible lengths). In those sequences directors Nadia Dubijansky and Alexii Muftoll create very palpable tension. And the animation… good lord the animation is perfectly haunting.

I’ve got a feeling that each viewing of this one might see me understanding something I initially missed, or perceiving something different than each prior viewing. That’s an interesting thing to say, but this is a thought provoking film, and I don’t think for a second it can be properly summed up, in whole, with just one simple statement. There are a myriad of layers to the picture.

In the Tall Grass is brief at seven minutes, but it’s also extremely eerie and firm in its magnetism. Watch it, you won’t be sorry.

Rating: 3.5/5

https://youtu.be/Hu_LazHpoQ4