Cube’s Vincenzo Natali to adapt Stephen King & Joe Hill’s In the Tall Grass

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Screen Daily has learned that CUBE and SPLICE director Vincenzo Natali has a new movie in the works, and it is an adaptation of the novella In the Tall Grass. Written by father-son duo Stephen King and Joe Hill (Locke & Key), the thriller was first published in the June/July and August 2012 issues of Esquire, and was later released as an e-book. Natali wrote the screenplay, and production on the planned film will begin this September in the Toronto area.

Description from Amazon:

In the Tall Grass begins with a sister and brother who pull off to the side of the road after hearing a young boy crying for help from beyond the tall grass. Within minutes they are disoriented, in deeper than seems possible, and they’ve lost one another. The boy’s cries are more and more desperate. What follows is a terrifying, entertaining, and masterfully told tale, as only Stephen King and Joe Hill can deliver.

Screen Daily also got a chance to speak with Vincenzo Natali, and the director shared his thoughts on King and Hill's story.

Who would think that grass could be frightening. They have transformed an otherwise innocuous Kansas field into a stage for some of the most disturbing horror fiction I have ever read.

Natalie went on to explain some of the plot (Warning: slight spoilers ahead):

When they go to assist the boy, they discover that strange forces are at work. Space is warped so that one minute they are together and the next they are miles apart. The field is an ineffable maze from which there is no escape. Before long they have lost their bearings and each other. But they are not alone…

Vincenzo Natali is a solid director (he also helmed the underrated horror movie HAUNTER and was behind the camera for several third season episodes of NBC's Hannibal), so I'm curious to see what he will do with IN THE TALL GRASS. Have any of you read the novella, and how do you feel about Natali directing a big screen adaptation?