Sommerleigh Pollonais – Senior Writer
A love letter to 50s sci-fi or, to be more precise, 50s sci-fi radio programmes like War of The Worlds, The Vast of Night has a lot of good things going for it.
First there’s the visuals. There are drone shots, long takes and retro color pallets that all feel like send-ups to the classic Twilight Zone television show. We also have a cast of actors who give solid performances that come off well grounded in reality, and which lends to a sense of looking into a moment of time that could’ve really taken place in small town USA (well, if alien invasions were a real thing that is).
Action is secondary to dialogue, which I think will divide viewers as this isn’t the kind of movie that’ll be enjoyed by general audiences. And personally, as much as I found the story interesting enough to keep watching, I readily admit the pacing isn’t easy to contend with. I appreciated the old school vibe they were going for but I can’t help but wish they had tightened up on the pace, as this 1 hour 30 minute-long movie felt like it was two hours long (I had headphones on and, due to the dialogue heavy style, I actually listened more than I watched this movie).
Overall though, I have to give props to this small budget film that’s beautifully shot, extremely well acted and feels like something Spielberg might’ve done in his youth.
Ranking: 7 out of 10
For my Quick Bite review of Vivarium you can click here.
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
Double Tap Baby!
You can also follow me as Moviejunkies Cont’d on Facebook and watch my movie review videos on YouTube.