--- title: "The Vast of Night" year: 2019 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-vast-of-night" fi1m_id: "the-vast-of-night" imdb_id: "tt6803046" tmdb_id: 565743 wikidata_id: "Q68220947" fi1m_score: 78 critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 25 published: "2026-09-29T02:19:22.594495+00:00" updated: "2026-09-29T02:19:23.252106+00:00" region: "KR" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Vast of Night (2019) Directed by Andrew Patterson · 1h 31m · Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller ## Identity The Vast of Night - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-vast-of-night - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-vast-of-night - **IMDb ID:** tt6803046 - **TMDB ID:** 565743 - **Wikidata ID:** Q68220947 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6803046/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/565743, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q68220947 **Fi1m score: 78** · Critics 79 from 25 reviews *In a sentence:* Two kids, a switchboard, a radio booth and a whole town watching basketball while the sky makes phone calls > Andrew Patterson’s first film is a 1950s alien-visitation story told almost entirely down telephone lines and over the airwaves, and for eighty minutes it is one of the most confident debuts we have seen. Then it shows us what it should have kept hidden. ## Synopsis Cayuga, New Mexico, one night in the 1950s. Nearly the whole town is packed into the school gym for a basketball game. Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick), a schoolgirl who works the telephone switchboard, has bought a new portable tape recorder and follows Everett (Jake Horowitz), the fast-talking presenter at the local radio station, across the car park while he shows her how to use it. Then they go to work, Fay to her board and Everett to his late show. A sound comes down one of Fay’s lines that she cannot place, a low pulsing hum, and calls begin dropping out. She patches it through to Everett, who plays it on air and asks whether anybody listening has heard it before. Someone has, and he rings in. ## Review Andrew Patterson’s first film opens on an old television set. A black-and-white anthology programme is starting, an announcer promises a tale of the strange, and the camera pushes into the screen until the picture fills the frame and turns to colour. It is a nod to [*The Twilight Zone*](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone), and a warning: this is the sort of story that used to be told in half an hour, stretched by Patterson and co-writer Craig W. Sanger to 91 minutes and set almost entirely in two small rooms and the telephone lines between them. The rooms are a switchboard and a radio booth in Cayuga, New Mexico, on a night in the 1950s when the rest of the town is at the basketball game. Fay Crocker (Sierra McCormick) is a schoolgirl who runs the telephones. Everett (Jake Horowitz) runs the radio station, or at least its late shift. They talk fast and over each other, and Horowitz has Everett’s patter exactly, a young man who has learned how to be a person from the wireless. McCormick is the film’s centre. Watch her at the board with the headset on, cords in both hands, as a sound comes down a line that should not carry one. She listens, and Patterson lets us watch her listen. Then the camera leaves. The most talked-about shot, from cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz, starts at the switchboard, drops to ground level and travels across the whole town in the dark, past parked cars and dim porches, into the gym where the crowd is roaring, and out again to the radio station, without a visible cut. We sat up. It is showing off, and it earns it, because it tells us how small the town is, how empty it is tonight, and how far Fay’s voice has to travel to reach Everett’s. The middle of the film is people on the telephone, and it is the best part. Everett plays Fay’s sound on air and asks whether anyone recognises it. A man called Billy rings in. We never see him; Bruce Davis is a voice on a bad line, talking slowly about something he was made to do years ago, and Patterson, who cut the film himself, takes the picture to black for long stretches while he speaks. We sat in the dark listening the way Everett does, and we did not want the picture back. Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer’s score stays under the voices, a low electric hum that is hard to tell from the sound on the line, which we take to be the point. A second caller, Mabel Blanche (Gail Cronauer), asks the pair round to her house and gets a long speech from an armchair in one held shot. Some critics found the monologues strain. Cronauer’s did not, for us. She plays a woman who has waited a long time to be asked, and it moved us more than a film about a noise in the sky has any right to. Adam Dietrich, who produced the film and designed it, builds the fifties out of things that work: the switchboard’s jacks and lights, the booth’s reel-to-reel machines, Fay’s new portable tape recorder. Nothing glows the way the decade usually glows on screen. The town looks like a place people would like to leave, which is what Everett keeps saying about it. Two things hold it back. The framing device keeps returning. Every so often the picture shrinks into that fuzzy television screen, the sound goes tinny, and we are reminded that we are watching a pastiche, which we had noticed. It puts a pane of glass between us and two people we were happy to be close to. And Fay and Everett are not given much to want. He wants out of Cayuga; she wants to keep up with him; that is about it, and by the last act we found we cared more about the callers than about the pair who took the calls. Then there is the ending, which we will not describe except to say that after eighty minutes of showing us nothing, the film shows us something, and it is roughly the something we had been picturing. We were let down, and then slightly cross about it, because the black screen had been braver. Most critics forgive it and, on balance, so do we. It is a first film made on a small budget, and it is more confident than most tenth films. Watch it at night with the sound up and the phone off. The best minutes are the ones with nothing on the screen. *Fi1m score 78, published 29 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like the film, and none of the twenty-five reviews is negative. The praise gathers around the camerawork, above all a long tracking shot that travels the town at night, and around a sound design that carries much of the tension. The two leads draw repeated notice for their chemistry, and several reviewers admire the 1950s setting for feeling lived-in rather than nostalgic. More than one treats it as a debut that announces a director worth following. The reservations cluster at the ending. Several find the final reveal predictable or a let-down, and one or two think the closing effects unnecessary. A couple object to the framing device, saying it holds the story at an ironic distance. The spread is narrow, with only four mixed notices. Collider is the coolest, finding the film stylish but shallow, with a mystery that cannot sustain interest. The Hollywood Reporter, writing from an early festival screening, finds it obscure and abrupt. Even the doubters praise the direction. ## Straight answers **Is The Vast of Night worth watching?** *The Vast of Night* is worth watching for anyone who likes slow, talk-led science fiction, and we scored it 78. For eighty minutes Andrew Patterson's debut holds its nerve, keeping the visitors to voices on a bad telephone line; then the ending shows us something it should have kept hidden. Watch it at night with the sound up. **How long is The Vast of Night, and what is it rated?** *The Vast of Night* runs 1h 31m. It is a drama and mystery film. **Where can I watch The Vast of Night in South Korea?** *The Vast of Night* is not on any streaming or rental service in South Korea at the moment. It is available in 3 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does The Vast of Night compare to The Twilight Zone?** *The Vast of Night* is a feature-length homage to [*The Twilight Zone*](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone), and the half-hour programme it quotes remains the sharper of the two. Rod Serling's stories are disciplined and finish when they should; Patterson's film stretches one idea to 91 minutes and stumbles at the close. Choose the film if you want a slow build in two small rooms, the series if you want the idea done cleanly. **What should I watch after The Vast of Night?** After *The Vast of Night*, try [*The Twilight Zone*](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone) (1959, Fi1m 84): The half-hour programme this film is quoting, still sharper than most imitations. Then [*Close Encounters of the Third Kind*](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind) (1977, Fi1m 85): Ordinary Americans, a signal nobody can explain, and Spielberg taking his time; and [*Berberian Sound Studio*](https://film.one/film/berberian-sound-studio) (2012, Fi1m 78): Peter Strickland’s horror about sound itself, told from inside a recording booth. ### Reviews we read (25) - **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (5/5): O’Sullivan says the film deserves the hype, while noting its quieter, wonkier style. She particularly praises its extraordinary tracking shots, which give the town and story a thrilling sense of urgency. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-vast-of-night-review-andrew-pattersons-wonky-gem-deserves-the-hype-a4454406.html) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (90/100, inferred): Lane calls the film an absorbing, carefully crafted piece of small-scale science fiction. He especially praises its patient storytelling and a remarkable tracking shot that tours the town, though he finds the concluding effects unnecessary. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/08/shirley-takes-a-one-sided-view-of-its-subject) - **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (90/100, inferred): Willmore praises the film as a thrilling, fresh discovery that balances retro sci-fi with a modern sensibility. She singles out its audacious long take and sound-driven filmmaking, while noting one monologue strains for gravitas. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-sci-fi-debut-the-vast-of-night-on-amazon-prime.html) - **Empire**, Ian Freer (85/100, inferred): Freer finds the film an assured, original, and moving piece of sci-fi that announces a singular talent. He particularly praises its fluid camera work and evocative, non-nostalgic recreation of the 1950s. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-vast-of-night/) - **Little White Lies**, Josh Slater-Williams (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film riveting and ultimately heartbreaking, praising its formal inventiveness. They also single out the fully realised, lived-in Americana and the leads’ magnetic performances. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-vast-of-night-review) - **IndieWire**, Ryan Lattanzio (B+): Lattanzio finds the film a charming, confident, and genuinely spooky debut, despite a disappointing reveal in its final act. He praises the lead actors’ buoyant chemistry and the director’s assured visual craft. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-vast-of-night-review-amazon-1202234018/) - **The AV Club**, Katie Rife (B+): Rife praises the film as an assured, resourceful indie achievement, despite finding its conclusion somewhat predictable. She singles out its inventive use of dialogue, sound, and camerawork to build atmosphere on a limited budget. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/sci-fi-wonder-the-vast-of-night-is-an-inspiring-testame-1843731490) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (80/100, inferred): Chang finds the film an ingenious, strikingly new blend of old storytelling forms, and says it builds investment in its characters with pleasing clarity. He especially praises the performances that make the radio conversations captivating, alongside the cinematography’s arresting night-time tracking shots. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-05-27/vast-of-night-review-prime) - **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (4/5): The critic praises the film as a stylish, knowing riff on Twilight Zone-style storytelling. They single out the engagingly offbeat leads and the absorbing monologues. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-vbyfys/the-vast-of-night/) - **The Guardian**, Mark Kermode (4/5): Kermode finds the film a mesmerising, well-paced mystery that makes familiar science-fiction territory feel intriguing. He especially praises its inventive camerawork and the moments when it lets the characters and sound hold the audience’s attention. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/may/31/the-vast-of-night-review-mesmerising-retro-sci-fi-andrew-patterson-debut-space-invasions) - **Variety**, Amy Nicholson (80/100, inferred): Nicholson finds the film charming and inventive, with an execution that makes its familiar B-movie premise engaging. She especially praises the ambitious tracking shot and the crew’s creativity in turning budget limits into magic. [Read](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-vast-of-night-review-1203335505/) - **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (3/4): Bowen finds the film lovely and wistful, praising its patient cultivation of anticipation. He singles out its intimate radio-drama approach and evocative tracking shots, while noting that the payoff is limited. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-vast-of-night-review-andrew-patterson/) - **Film Comment**, Amy Taubin (64/100, inferred): The dispatch frames the film as an extraterrestrial surprise, but the available text gives no specific critical verdict. No particular element is singled out for praise or complaint in the accessible excerpt. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/sundance-dispatch-beats-and-the-vast-of-night/) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The URL identifies this as a review of the specified film, but the page provides no review text. The critic’s verdict and any singled-out praise or complaint cannot be verified. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/movies/the-vast-of-night-review.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Justin Lowe (50/100, inferred): The critic finds the film intriguingly quirky but frustratingly obscure, with long conversations and an abrupt ending weakening its impact. The fluid camerawork and convincing mid-1950s production design stand out for praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/vast-night-slamdance-2019-1179568/) - **The Playlist**, Chris Barsanti (A): Barsanti praises the film as a beautifully atmospheric, suspenseful debut that favors mystery over explanation. He singles out its assured long takes and evocative use of vintage broadcast equipment. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/vast-night-review-amazon-20200519/) - **The Wrap** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a gripping, charming sci-fi adventure that feels both rooted in the 1950s and relevant today. They especially praise its immersive sound design and camera work, including a remarkable continuous shot through town. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/vast-of-night-film-review-andrew-patterson-jake-horowitz/) - **Den of Geek**, Rosie Fletcher (4/5): Fletcher calls the film a glorious, confident sci-fi homage and praises its blend of B-movie fun and arthouse craft. She especially singles out the chemistry between its leads and the meticulous sense of time and place. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-vast-of-night-review-a-retro-sci-fi-gem/) - **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (80/100, inferred): Wilkinson finds the film a familiar but compelling story, with its inventive filmmaking making it stand out. She especially praises Patterson’s pacing, camerawork and sound design for building tension without relying on special effects. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-vast-of-night-2019-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) - **HeyUGuys** (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film an impressive, distinctive debut, despite finding its framing device a misstep. They praise the performances and sound design, especially the eerie, carefully developed signal. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-vast-of-the-night-review/) - **NME**, Alex Flood (4/5): The review finds the film an engrossing, inventive homage that overcomes its familiar sci-fi premise. It singles out the clever camera work and long tracking shots, alongside the lead performances. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-vast-of-night-review-2677910) - **The Skinny**, Rory Doherty (★★★★): The review finds the film atmospheric and arresting, with familiar material elevated by its execution. It singles out the leads’ vibrant performances, stylish visuals, and lively chemistry, while noting that exposition slows the narrative. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-vast-of-night) - **/Film**, Marisa Mirabal (8 out of 10): Mirabal finds the film dazzling and uniquely unsettling, though she says its leads do not develop enough to deepen the emotional impact. She praises Patterson’s inventive camera work and use of sound to evoke the suspense of classic television and radio. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/569251/the-vast-of-night-review-fantastic-fest-2019/) - **Polygon**, Tasha Robinson (70/100, inferred): Robinson finds the film’s storytelling spectacular, though its framing device adds unnecessary ironic distance and its protagonists have too little to do. She especially praises the hushed atmosphere created by the cinematography and sound design. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2020/6/6/21282339/the-vast-of-night-movie-review-amazon-prime-science-fiction/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (C): Goldberg finds the film stylish but ultimately shallow, with its mystery unable to sustain interest. He praises Andrew Patterson’s assured direction and atmosphere, while criticizing the thin characterization and screenplay. [Read](https://collider.com/the-vast-of-night-amazon-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Andrew Patterson - **Director:** Andrew Patterson - **Teleplay:** Andrew Patterson, Craig W. Sanger - **Cinematography:** M.I. Littin-Menz - **Editor:** Andrew Patterson - **Music:** Erick Alexander, Jared Bulmer - **Production design:** Adam Dietrich - **Producer:** Melissa Kirkendall, Andrew Patterson, Adam Dietrich - **Cast:** Sierra McCormick as Fay Crocker; Jake Horowitz as Everett; Bruce Davis as Billy (voice); Gail Cronauer as Mabel Blanche; Cheyenne Barton as Bertsie; Mark Banik as Gerald; Gregory Peyton as Benny Wade; Adam Dietrich as Rodkey Oliver - **Runtime:** 1h 31m - **First release (the US):** 26 January 2019 - **Genres:** Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller - **Budget:** $700,000 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEiwpCJqMM0 ## Where to watch in South Korea Not streaming, renting or buying in South Korea at the last check. Also available in: AT, DE, JP. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Pontypool* (2008): A Canadian radio host locked in his booth while the town outside goes wrong - *The Twilight Zone* (1959), Fi1m 84: The half-hour programme this film is quoting, still sharper than most imitations — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/the-twilight-zone.md) - *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977), Fi1m 85: Ordinary Americans, a signal nobody can explain, and Spielberg taking his time — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind.md) - *Coherence* (2013): A dinner party, a comet overhead, and a whole thriller shot in one house - *Berberian Sound Studio* (2012), Fi1m 78: Peter Strickland’s horror about sound itself, told from inside a recording booth — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/berberian-sound-studio.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-vast-of-night