
Movie review
September 20, 2019 · 101 min · +16
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for In the Tall Grass.
Woke representation / casting
The pregnant lead is played by a Latina actress in a plot-driven role about adoption and vulnerability; no marketing push, narrative signaling, or quota-style emphasis on identity.
Woke political dialogue
No activist speeches, institutional critiques, or social commentary of any kind; all dialogue supports horror tension and character survival.
Identity-driven story themes
Themes stay on supernatural entrapment, time distortion, family protection, guilt, and an ancient evil force with zero connection to race, gender, sexuality, or modern identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
An abandoned church and mysterious rock form part of the eerie backdrop but receive no framing as oppressive patriarchy, toxic masculinity, or failed Western institutions.
Review
In the Tall Grass is a 2019 supernatural horror movie. A pregnant woman and her brother stop near a vast Kansas field after hearing a lost boy calling for help and quickly become trapped in a moving, time-bending maze filled with an evil presence. The story centers on survival, family bonds, psychological strain, and inescapable dread with no audience-visible identity themes, political messaging, or social-justice elements.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film adapts the King and Hill novella faithfully with only minor feature-length expansions; no identity swaps or DEI-driven alterations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No right-leaning or anti-woke complaints exist about DEI messaging or identity politics; all public discussion centers on horror quality and adaptation fidelity.
Creator track record context
Key writers and director show mild liberal personal views but maintain long careers in traditional horror and speculative fiction without recurring identity-driven or activist patterns.
Production