In The Tall Grass suffers from weak dialogue and a story idea that needed more development. Stephen King appears to have an endless supply of material for adaptation, so much so that his son is attempting to follow in his father’s footsteps by writing horror stories as well. When the two generations collaborated on a short story about a strange field, it should have evoked memories of King's past work and established him as the legendary writer he once was. Unfortunately, even with its adherence to the original material, it is another King story that fails to translate effectively into a full-length film. Two siblings—one six months pregnant—stop near an old church and enter an endless field of tall grass after hearing a child calling for help. However, this field is surrounded by a mysterious force that prevents anyone from leaving, so the two must survive the oddities of the tall grass before “something” or “someone” puts them in danger. The film has strong similarities to ‘Triangle,’ but its complicated ideas feel less inventive and more ordinary. Past, present, and future versions of characters appear within the swaying grass, plainly explaining the rules and limitations of the field’s power. "The grass won't move dead things," says a troubled young boy who has been lost for days. “The rock is the way out!” The story had the potential to be both atmospheric and suspenseful given the frustratingly confined environment, but it didn't reach that level. Despite Wrobleski’s impressive cinematography, which captured the natural beauty of the field through stylized movement—particularly in portraying the field as a living thing—Natali’s simplistic screenplay resulted in characters acting and behaving in ways that felt strangely lifeless. It is difficult to determine anything about the characters beyond how loudly they call out for each other. For instance, Cal repeatedly shouting “Becky? Becky? Becky with the good hair!?” represents the extent of our emotional connection to his character. Becky responds by calling for "Cal!". Travis arrives and shouts for “Becky?" and “Tobin!”. Ross is simply yelling at himself about real estate. His wife has almost no lines (even shouting included!). And the dog had more screen time than most of the characters. The dialogue felt unnatural, sharply contrasting with the entire premise. While the performances were adequate given what the actors were provided, Wilson consistently rises above expectations. However, it’s not enough to elevate a supernatural mystery that tries to explain everything too quickly. It's hard to call this horror, since there was no real threat or tension, though some graphic violence was used well. The third act begins and the plot escalates from confusion to utterly nonsensical. Without giving away spoilers, events occur near a rock that embodies King’s worst writing habits. Unnecessary “creatures” are added into the mix, ironically contributing nothing to the story. Then, as with all films involving time loops, the characters miraculously close the loop before it even begins. So, what was the purpose? Did they genuinely learn anything from this experience that they hadn't already lived through? It’s obvious that Natali couldn’t expand King’s short story into a feature film, despite remaining true to the source material. The technical skill was overshadowed by poor writing and underdeveloped characters, which prevented this supernatural mystery from being truly mysterious. This is why everyone should buy a lawnmower—you never know when you might find yourself trapped in a field with a giant ancient rock in the middle.

Source on TMDB