Every so often a film comes along that reminds you that great science fiction movies don’t have to be massive, visual effects laden, blockbusters. There’s still plenty of room for riveting tales of humanity grappling with the infinite. From its Twilight Zone inspired opening to it’s retro Close Encounters vibes The Vast of Night is one of those sci-fi movies. One that wears its heart on its sleeve but refuses to be a slave to its influences.
In the small town of Cayuga in the 1950’s, radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) and radio enthusiast, and part time telephone exchange operator, Fay (Sierra McCormick), chat about the ins and outs of the radio business, while walking around town and recording snippets of conversation with the local townsfolk on Fay’s new new “mini “ reel to reel tape recorder.
As the majority of the citizens head to watch the big Basketball game, the pair comes across a strange signal interfering with the phone lines and the signal from the radio station. Is it someone in town messing with an old radio transmitter? Could it be the Russians? Someone else? Something else? Maybe one of Everett’s listeners be able to help identify it?
Golden Age of Radio
Writer/director Andrew Patterson’s indie debut slowly reveals itself as an analog X-files as Everett and Fay meander around their small town, connecting the dots and reconnecting phone lines (yes, phone lines had to be physically connected in an exchange, back in the old days, kids!) and interviewing some of the town’s inhabitants about what might be going on.
Don’t expect a ripping sci-fi action adventure though. Despite some fantastic long shots that reveal just how small the town is, much of the “action”, as it were, revolves around Fay and Everett talking to each other or listening to townsfolk relay their experiences, sometimes just listening to a phone call. At times the screen is so still that it almost feels like you could be listening to a radio drama. A feeling reinforced at times when the screen goes black entirely. That doesn’t mean its boring. Patterson expertly builds tension as the stories unfold.
It can be a hypnotic experience.
Video Killed the Radio Star
Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick provide riveting leads. Horowitz’s fast talking Everett coming across as cynical and worldly yet never cruel. In comparison McCormick’s Fay is wide eye and naive, but she knows when to hold her ground, and when to sprint for the hills.
The Vast of Night is one of those sci-fi indies whose concept far exceeds its budget. With its focus on the characters and setting, it turns its USD$700,000 budget to a strength rather than a weakness. Setting the action during the big game is a stoke of genius, explaining away the empty (and budget conscious) streets of the town.
Despite the sense of dread that builds through the stories told to Everett and Fay, the film avoids veering into horror, thanks in no small part to the string heavy, ethereal score by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer. The delicate soundtrack inspires a sense of wonder rather than fear as events unfold around the central pair.
As the final act nears it’s end, aficionados of the genre will have a good idea of where things are heading – or at least a couple of possible endings in mind – but that doesn’t lessen its impact any. There are plenty of hints along the way, from the film’s opening, to the name of the station where Everett works. The ending doesn’t come as too much of a surprise but the enjoyment comes from seeing which sci-fi trope the filmmakers will take and play around with.
The Vast of Night is a delightful sci-fi debut from Patterson, and one that deserves an audience that it will hopefully find on a platform like Prime. It will be very interesting to see what Patterson does in the future.
The Vast of Night is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The Vast of Night
89 mins
Director: Andrew Patterson
Writer: Andrew Patterson (as James Montague) and Craig W. Sanger
Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer, and Bruce Davis
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