HIDDEN GEMS: The Vast of Night Review

Two teenagers – a radio host and a switchboard operator – team up to investigate strange signals in this eerie retro sci-fi. 

“There’s something in the sky” – A concerned citizen, just trying to raise the alarm.

Finally! Back to Hidden Gems. Although, if I’m being brutally honest, while The Vast of Night is certainly hidden it’s debatable how much of a gem it is. There are reasons to really like The Vast of Night and reasons not to. Whether you like it or not will probably depend on how much you like Sci-Fi.

Opening on a TV screen blaring the intro to a 1950’s style Sci-Fi anthology show, Vast of Night establishes it’s framing device early as we enter the TV and find ourselves in the world of the programme, which in this “Episode” is the small town of Cayuga, New Mexico, as it gears up for the first game of Basketball season.

Our main characters are Everett Sloan, a swaggering, larger-than-life radio DJ, and Fay Crocker, an enthusiastic and bright-eyed science nerd who works on the Cayuga’s switchboard. After a charming opening that introduces Everett and Fay testing out Fay’s new recorder, we see Fay working at the switchboard, when a strange signal interrupts Everett’s show.

Letting Everett know, the two decide to play the sound back on the radio to see if any of their listeners may have heard it before. Sure enough, they get a caller, whose story sends them on a while chase throughout the town for anyone else who may know anything about the mysterious noises.

I mentioned before that there is a lot to like about The Vast of Night but the film’s framing device is surely not one of them. Presenting the film as being an episode of a 1950’s sci-fi anthology film could have worked-in theory- if it were anyway connected to the plot. 

Unfortunately, it’s not. Again, it possibly could have worked if the evidence of this framing device was left to the start of the film, but we frequently find ourselves reminded of the conceit by the sudden discolouration of scenes and the flicker of static that serves only as a distraction. While it does add to the genre homage the film is obviously going for, it mostly just succeeds in taking the audience out of the film.

Plot-wise, the film is pretty light as well, centring mostly around a pair of monologues that act as oral histories. It’s a bold move in a medium that inherently focuses around visuals to require the audience to just sit and listen for a time and I’m not convinced the film pull it’s off with the second monologue. Billy’s story, with his sad, dignified voice, is much more compelling than Blanche’s monologue, which comes across as overlong rather than creepy.

A problem with having the characters work around 1950’s era technology is that we see a lot of our main characters fiddling around with archaic technology. In some ways this can be quite satisfying and great care has been taken to faithfully recreate the period, but it does slow the narrative down. During these periods we tend to get some deeper insight into the characters as they talk, but it’s not quite enough to justify the time taken.

The two main characters are some of the films strongest assets. The thick slang they use can be hard to penetrate at first but is so entertainingly retro it’s hard not to be charmed. The chemistry between the two of them is a delight and every time the two are together on screen the film benefits from it.

There are other, more technical high points as well. The film deploys a number of impressive shots, such as a tracking shot, that takes us all the way across town, from Fay, through the high school gym where the game is being played, to the radio station Everett is working at. A nearly ten-minute sequence where Fay fields calls from concerned citizens jabbering about “Something in the sky” in a single take impress also.

Overall, The Vast of Night is a strongly made film. There are technical flourishes, the characters are well crafted and engaging, and the plot manages to pay tribute to the golden age of sci-fi without feeling like it’s being derivative or cliched, which is an impressive achievement considering how well trod the films ground is. It’s a good-looking film as well, considering it was made on such a tight budget and there’s a nice atmosphere throughout. That being said, it can’t quite keep the tension up throughout the film and the framing device does nothing but keep us out of the film.

Verdict 3/5

• I think the thing I like best about this film is how ambiguous it is. The ending really changes depending on how you interpret the rest of the film.
• Fay and Everetts just burgeoning romance is very sweet.
• Having the characters who slowly reveal the truth to Everett and Fay be representative of those who would be marginalized in the 50’s is a nice touch.

Available on Amazon Prime.

Next Week: Possibly a documentary, and a very odd one at that.