Full Summary – In the Tall Grass (2019)
Overview
In the Tall Grass is a Netflix supernatural horror film (2019), based on the novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill. It explores themes of time loops, supernatural forces, and the sinister manipulation of human will. The story follows a group of strangers who get trapped in a vast field of tall grass, where space and time collapse into a nightmare controlled by a mysterious rock.
Plot Summary
The Call from the Grass
Siblings Becky (six months pregnant) and her brother Cal are driving cross-country. Becky is considering giving her baby up for adoption, and the two are heading toward San Diego.
While passing through rural Kansas, they stop near a vast field of tall grass. They hear a boy named Tobin calling for help, claiming he is lost inside the grass and cannot find his way out. Concerned, Becky and Cal enter the grass to help.
However, once inside, they quickly realize something is wrong. The grass seems endless, disorienting them. Distances shift unnaturally—sometimes voices sound close, then suddenly far away. The field begins to bend time and space, trapping them inside.
Trapped in a Nightmare
Becky and Cal become separated. As they try to reunite, they encounter strange phenomena:
- They hear each other’s voices but cannot locate one another.
- The sun shifts unnaturally, suggesting time itself is distorted.
- Dead animals and decayed bodies appear, suggesting others have been trapped before.
Eventually, Becky meets Ross Humboldt, Tobin’s father, who appears friendly at first but becomes increasingly unstable. He hints that the field is controlled by a mysterious black rock, which holds great power and knowledge.
The Rock’s Influence
Ross has touched the rock, which has given him supernatural knowledge of the field—but also corrupted him, turning him into a violent, zealous servant of its will. He believes the rock connects him to the land, time, and universe itself, and he wants others to “join” by touching it.
Tobin explains that if you touch the rock, you will never get lost in the grass. However, those who do become permanently bound to the field.
Time Loop Revealed
Becky’s estranged boyfriend, Travis, arrives searching for her after she goes missing. Upon entering the field, he also becomes trapped. He encounters multiple versions of Cal, Becky, and others, realizing that the field creates time loops. The characters are forced to relive events repeatedly, dying in different ways and returning again.
At one point, Becky has a horrific vision—Ross forces her to touch the rock, and she hallucinates being forced to eat her unborn child. This emphasizes the rock’s grotesque, corrupting influence.
Deaths and Betrayals
- Cal becomes increasingly hostile under the field’s influence, even attempting to harm Becky. Eventually, he dies violently.
- Ross, fully consumed by the rock, kills mercilessly and becomes a monstrous figure within the field.
- Becky dies in the grass after suffering under the rock’s visions and Ross’s control.
Travis’s Sacrifice
Travis realizes that the only way to break the cycle is through self-sacrifice. He touches the rock, gaining knowledge of how the field works, but instead of becoming corrupted, he uses this knowledge to guide young Tobin.
Travis pushes Tobin out of the grass at a specific “reset point” in the time loop. Tobin emerges outside the field, alive, before Becky and Cal ever enter. He convinces them not to go inside, breaking the cycle and saving Becky and her unborn child.
Ending
Inside the field, Travis succumbs to the rock’s power and dies, but his sacrifice ensures Becky and Cal never enter, effectively erasing their deaths. The film ends ambiguously:
- Tobin, safe outside, has survived because of Travis’s actions.
- Travis lies dead in the field, his fate sealed.
- The cycle of the field may never fully end, but one version of events has been prevented.
Themes
- Corruption & Power – The rock symbolizes absolute power that corrupts those who embrace it.
- Time & Fate – The film plays with looping timelines, questioning whether destiny can be changed.
- Family & Sacrifice – Travis’s choice to save Becky and their unborn child redeems him and provides hope.
- The Unknown – The endless grass represents forces beyond human comprehension, both natural and supernatural.
Conclusion
In the Tall Grass is not a straightforward horror film but a nightmarish cosmic horror tale about people trapped in a living labyrinth. With its mix of time loops, supernatural manipulation, and sacrifice, it leaves audiences unsettled, questioning whether evil can ever be fully escaped once touched by it.