MOVIE REVIEW: 'The Vast of Night'

"THE VAST OF NIGHT"

PG-13 1:29 3 1/2 stars

A relatively small but unquestionably talented troupe of primarily Oklahoma moviemakers conjure an uncannily creepy and quality micro-budget mystery with "The Vast of Night."

An out-of-this-world directorial debut from Edmond filmmaker Andrew Patterson, the 1950s-set science fiction thriller is an unabashed throwback to cinematic genre classics like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," an homage to vintage radio theater like "War of the Worlds" and a hat-tip to retro-style podcasts like "Welcome to Night Vale."

But Patterson and his cohorts manage to bring a distinctive style and verve to the familiar formula that makes "The Vast of Night" a singular cinematic experience, even if most people will watch it at home as it starts streaming Friday on Amazon Prime Video.

Oklahoma-based writers Craig W. Sanger and James Montague literally frame the story as a "Twilight Zone" knockoff called “Paradox Theater,” which might seem tired if it didn't come with its own spooky and cleverly penned intro. Plus, Patterson quickly puts his visual stamp on the film, literally swooping the audience through the flickering screen of an old-fashioned television set and into a small-town story of strange lights in the sky and weird noises in the night.

On a fateful night in tiny Cayuga, New Mexico, most of the population of 492 souls is headed for the high school gym to watch the local basketball team open the season with a rivalry game. But two of the town's smartest teenagers — bright and curious telephone switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) and hip, chain-smoking, fast-talking radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) — are headed for their night jobs.

Patterson, cinematographer M.I. Littin-Menz and their intrepid camera crew track Fay and Everett mostly from behind, two technology-loving figures striding through the night chattering about how to use her new tape recorder and what they think the future will hold. When they settle into their respective workplaces, Fay hears a bizarre sound crackling through Everett's broadcast, and then she hears it again on one of her phone lines. Soon, Fay fields a staticky call from a woman shouting about lights in the sky before she is cut off, and then more lines start cutting out.

The jaded Everett believes it's the work of the Soviets, but the wide-eyed Fay suspects more extraterrestrial forces are at work in their sleepy desert hamlet. Soon, they are embarking on wild scavenger hunt for the truth that involves a mystery caller, an enigmatic hermit, dusty reels tucked away in the library basement and more.

There's a palpable sense of adventure to "The Vast of Night," as the story bobs and weaves through some of the expected genre conventions in unexpected, unconventional ways. When Billy (Oklahoma City actor Bruce Davis), an elderly and ailing retired African-American serviceman, calls into the radio station with a captivating tale of secretive military missions connected to the weird sounds, Patterson occasionally lets the screen go completely dark, the better to focus on Davis' compelling voice.

When Everett and Fay pay a visit to local shut-in Mabel Blanche (Texan Gail Cronauer) the camera lingers and lingers on her face as she shares her equally eerie "companion story" to Billy's tale. There's more visual magic in the almost 10-minute close-up of Fay, fingers flying as she works to connect calls on the switchboard, as well as in a stunning tracking shot that takes the viewer zipping down the streets, through the fields, into the gym, across the court, into the stands and outside again, on a swift reconnaissance run with some as-yet-unseen presence.

Although my personal feelings about the film's ending are a bit mixed, the filmmakers manage to infuse a timeworn tale with plenty of new life and fresh chills. Hopefully, this band of Oklahoma talents will soon be back in action to bring film fans another otherwordly adventure.

— Brandy McDonnell, The Oklahoman

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