In the Tall Grass
Author | Stephen King, Joe Hill |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Horror, suspense |
Publisher | Esquire |
Publication date | June/July–August 2012 |
Media type | Magazine |
In the Tall Grass is a horror novella by American writers
It has also been published in Full Throttle, a 2019 collection of short fiction by Hill.Plot summary
Cal and Becky Demuth are inseparable siblings (being called
After driving for three days, they stop at a field of grass over nine feet high after they hear a boy named Tobin calling for help. The twins also hear his mother Natalie yelling at him to stop making noise, warning "he will hear you". Cal thinks Tobin is just a few feet inside the field and walks into it to rescue the boy, Natalie's cries having mysteriously gone silent. Tobin sounds close so he dives for him, only to find no one there and realize that Tobin's voice now sounds far away.
Becky calls the authorities as she follows Cal into the field, but loses the signal just a few feet in. Cal and Becky get the idea to jump within the field to determine each other's position. The first attempt reveals they are only a yard from one another, but upon a second attempt Becky sees Cal is now a significant distance from her. Cal stumbles across a
Becky recites
Cal, now severely dehydrated and exhausted in his attempt to look for Becky, feverishly drinks the gritty water that the grass grows in. Now crazed, he attempts to burn down the field with
Meanwhile, Becky gives birth prematurely. Cal and Tobin appear and wrap the baby in a shirt. She passes out to "slurping sounds." When she wakes up, her baby is nowhere in sight. Cal and Tobin drag a half-conscious Becky to the rock and throw her on it.
An unspecified amount of time later, an
Film adaptation
Director Vincenzo Natali had wanted to make a film adaptation of In The Tall Grass as early as 2015, when he stated:
Who would think that grass could be frightening? Trust Stephen King and Joe Hill to find a way. They have transformed an otherwise innocuous Kansas field into a stage for some of the most disturbing horror fiction I have ever read."[4]
In May 2018, Netflix announced that it had purchased the film rights, setting Natali to direct and adapt the screenplay.[4][5] In the Tall Grass began streaming on Netflix on October 4, 2019.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "June/July 2012 Contents". 22 May 2012. Retrieved Sep 17, 2019.
- ^ "August 2012 Contents". 3 July 2012. Retrieved Sep 17, 2019.
- ISBN 1442359889.
- ^ a b Evangelista, Chris (May 8, 2018). "Stephen King Adaption 'In The Tall Grass' Headed to Netflix". /Film. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Dillon, Ananda (May 9, 2018). "Netflix Buys Stephen King & Joe Hill's In the Tall Grass". CBR.com. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (October 4, 2019). "Stephen King's 'In the Tall Grass' stumbles around aimlessly". CNN.