Popular reviews

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★½ 6

  64

  Certainly not for everyone, but this is a rock-solid micro-budget OUTER LIMITS/TWILIGHT ZONE riff that's as gentle as it is spooky. Like a relaxing campfire story or narrative podcast, it lulls the viewer into its habits and rhythms before twisting and turning towards the finish line. Slight, perhaps, and certainly predictable, but it's cozy and comfy and the long-takes are enthralling. Offers formal chops that so many of these nostalgia pastiches don't even bother with. Director Andrew Patterson has a bright future ahead.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★½ 2

  Lots of really impressive formal control here; when there's actually something to look at, this is quite elegantly composed. Unfortunately it's in service of a lot of aw shucks quaintness and a glorified radio drama. I'm sorry but it's sleep-inducing. And the framing device is just useless. Did we really need to be prompted that this is sort of like an old Twilight Zone?

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  Review by Lucy ★★★ 3

  CIFF 2019: film #7

  “this is good radio”

  eerie and alluring, the dialogue is fast paced and energetic until it flows into lengthy tracking shots that really work for the mood. i do feel the need to deduct half a star for the overlong monologues, i originally thought it served the film but they feel too self indulgent for no reason. but this is still so cool and worth checking out, i was on board the whole time

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  Review by Adam Nayman ★★★★ 5

  I liked this very much when I saw it last September and I liked it even more on a second viewing this evening. But then I tend to like - and give over completely - to movies about loss, loneliness and history understood in increments, inflexible and indifferent to whoever may be passing through. Basically, movies that are about the sun setting on something - movies that are twilight zones.

  
   It’s easy to admire the skill of the filmmaking here, and also easy to dismiss it as showboating - a callow “calling card” movie, or some such. In this view, the things hype-minded critics and festival goers have liked and respond to—all that muscular, gliding tracking-shot style—are opportunistically/polemically reframed as…

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★½ 4

  The Vast of Night is a mesmerising invasion film swarmingly elucidated in genuine time. Written by James Montague and Craig W. Sanger, the film is erupting with suggestions and components which establishes uncertainty. Meanwhile, director Andrew Patterson colours the film with contorted visuals while arranging an all-around realistic manner and posture. It's both enchanting and delightful, and while it often feels like a feature-length episode of The Outer Limits, it's Patterson’s filmmaking effectiveness that remains the films primary enchantment. It's a remarkable debut for Patterson, and his camerawork elevates the tension and mystery of the overall narrative rather superbly. At the same time, it continually reverts to a framing device of a vintage television set and a science fiction show of…

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  Review by Josh Kadish ★★★★ 14

  A month ago, my incredible fiancée asked me what, above all else, I wanted for my 30th birthday. I told her I simply wanted to be with the people I love most on this planet - my family and my friends.

  In the pit of my stomach, I knew I wanted this quite desperately - but because of the living see-saw that the world under quarantine has become, I knew I shouldn’t set my expectations too high. I would’ve gladly taken rounds of video chats with these people I love most, all as a way of celebrating with them in some fashion.

  So, when I opened my eyes at the Mission Tiki Drive-In Theater this evening, I truly couldn’t fathom…

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  Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★ 4

  A human drama set in the McCarthy era with potential aliens lurking in the distance, this film has some cool ideas that were executed in a boring manner with very thin characters.

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  Review by colin... ★★★★ 3

  Goosebumps. For the last twenty minutes of this film, I had literal goosebumps. I'm honestly in awe of the fact that this is a debut. This flung me back to my childhood listening to radio stage plays, and with everything going on in the world, for an hour and a half, I was able to immerse myself in something so fascinating, I can hardly describe it.

  Magic.

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  Review by airwreckuh ★★★★ 1

  I am so impressed with this movie.
  I can’t remember the last time i was on the edge of my seat, watching a single person in a room alone.
  Because it’s categorized as a thriller, you’d expect there to be some sort of jump scares, but there were none. It was more of an eerie & chilling thriller than anything. I was utterly floored by the two leads’ performances, the camera work, & the cinematography. They all just killed it, wow.

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  Review by ☆ sophie ☆ ★★★★ 8

  The Vast of Night is one film I was not expecting to love as much as I do. This film captures the essence and makings of an unforgettable indie sci-fi flick. The plot of the film is simple enough but the way it unravels to the audience is what grasped my attention. Some have described this movie as "slow-paced", but for me, it was over in a blink of an eye. From its opening scene until the final frame, I found myself in a daze for 90-minutes and I was so absorbed into this story. The 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…

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  Review by Ella Kemp ★★

  Ehhhh no I’m sorry this really should have just been a podcast

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  Review by Jonathan White ★★★★½ 7

  TIFF 2019 film# 13

  The Vast of Night is like a ghost story told around a campfire. You can feel the warmth of the flames on your face, and the cool of the night on your back. It’s the goosebumps that rise on your skin when the storyteller gets to the good part. It’s your mind filled with wonder, and your heart racing. The Vast of Night is that magnetic friend talking you into something beyond your comfort zone. Will you get in trouble? That’s the excitement of the venture, … where will it lead? Who knows.

  First time director Andrew Patterson demonstrates amazing skill not only in subverting visual storytelling and bending it to his will, but also in choosing and coaching his two young leads into delivering award worthy performances with skill on par with masters like Lumet.

  Staring at the Predicta across the room, the signal fading in and out, you’ve just entered the The Cayuga Zone.