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Jake Horowitz and Sierra McCormick in the movie “The Vast of Night.”
(Amazon Studios)
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THE VAST OF NIGHT is a thrilling blend of science fiction and mystery from new filmmaker and director Andrew Patterson from Oklahoma. The film was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and took home Best Narrative Feature Audience Award from Slamdance Film Festival in 2019.
The film features Sierra McCormick playing a young switchboard operator and Jake Horowitz as a radio DJ who cross paths one night at the local high school where the majority of the small town is gathering for the high school basketball game. The film begins with a title introduction in a retro TV set that is reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone". As the young girl hears something strange coming through her switchboard, she and the radio DJ begin to investigate leading them through the quiet, forlorn American town in search of answers with some eery encounters. The film feels like a mix-up between "The X-Files", "The Outer Limits" and "The Twilight Zone"; shows which captured the imagination of millions when they first aired and still resonate today for their inventiveness, creativity, and expansion into the world of speculation and the paranormal.
The film is experimental in the way it was shot with long takes and moments of sheer black screen. It incorporates other media like radio as well. One could simply listen to the movie and follow most of what's happening. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Patterson describes his inspiration for the lighting and use of color, which provided very nostalgic feel to the film. He says, "By far, the number one visual key to this movie, in terms of lighting and color palette, was this movie from 2014 called ’71 [directed by] Yann Demange. You can see that we totally ripped that off. I thought that was probably the best movie of that year—it just grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go."
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