In the Tall Grass

In the Tall Grass

Year: 2019

Runtime: 101 min

Language: English

Director: Vincenzo Natali

Echo Score: 45
DramaThrillerHorror

While driving through Kansas, siblings Becky and Cal stop to help a young boy who desperately needs assistance. They venture into a vast, mysterious field of tall grass, hoping to reunite him with his family. However, they quickly realize they are trapped in a disorienting labyrinth where distances are deceptive and the landscape seems to shift. As they search for the boy and attempt to find their way out, they become entangled in a terrifying ordeal, discovering that being found might be more dangerous than remaining lost.

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In the Tall Grass (2019) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of In the Tall Grass (2019), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

Becky, who is six months pregnant, and her brother Cal DeMuth embark on a journey to San Diego. Their plan is for Becky to stay with her aunt until she gives birth so she can put her baby up for adoption. However, their trip takes a dark turn when they stop by an old church and hear a young boy named Tobin calling for help from a field of tall grass. As they investigate, they also hear his mother, Natalie, pleading with him not to seek any assistance.

Worrying for the boy’s safety, Becky and Cal enter the grass, but soon they find themselves separated as the terrain behaves in bizarre and unsettling ways. Panic escalates, and their attempts to leave become futile as darkness descends. Amid the confusion, Cal stumbles upon a frightened and dirty Tobin, who oddly holds a dead crow. Tobin shares that the grass does not allow dead things to move, burying the bird in the ground as they converse. During a tense moment, Becky encounters Tobin’s father, Ross, but they too become lost in the endless grass.

As events unfold, Cal is led by Tobin to an ancient stone, but their moment is interrupted by Becky’s chilling scream as she is attacked by an unseen menace. Meanwhile, Becky’s child’s father, Travis, arrives, looking desperately for both Becky and Cal. He discovers their abandoned vehicle and enters the field, ultimately meeting Tobin, who cryptically leads him to Becky’s lifeless body. Stricken by grief, Travis is further haunted by Tobin’s presence, who seems to exist in different timelines as they navigate the menacing field.

The following day, confusion reigns as a much earlier version of Tobin arrives at the church where his family gathers. The family’s dog, Freddy, runs into the grass, prompting panic and a frantic search as Travis calls for Tobin. Unfortunately, this leads to further disarray as Ross, driven by a growing sense of dread, discovers the ancient rock. Upon touching it, he becomes detached from reality, deepening the peril for everyone involved.

The narrative thickens as Becky receives a distressing phone call warning them against repeating mistakes. As their journey proceeds, Becky experiences a horrific event where the grass seems to enter her womb, rendering her unconscious. Fortunately, Ross revives her moments later, suggesting a way out of the ominous field. However, revelations about the rock arise when Natalie warns them of its danger, igniting conflict among them. Desperate to escape, they suffer losses, including the deaths of Natalie and injuries inflicted on Travis.

In a tragic twist, the group manages to find refuge in an old building where they discover that Freddy, the dog, has escaped through a hidden passage leading to safety. Competing feelings of jealousy and desperation surface when Cal allows Travis to slip to his doom during a tumultuous encounter. Tobin, witnessing these events, flees for safety while Cal struggles with his fate, revealing a perilous time loop in which he is pursued relentlessly by the unhinged Ross.

As the plot develops, Becky engages in a cat-and-mouse game with Ross, managing to inflict an injury before encountering monstrous beings that threaten her. In her attempts to reach out to her former self, she becomes ensnared in a web of visions and hallucinations that blur reality. Tragically, she soon learns that her brother was not who he seemed, revealing a shocking connection to Ross.

In a heart-wrenching finale, while collapsing under the agony of betrayal and violence, the critical realization dawns that only through understanding the ‘grass’ can the characters break the cycle of despair. Ultimately, after being confronted by Ross, with everything on the line, Travis takes a gamble, touches the stone, and confronts the visions that have haunted them. With determination, he manages to guide Tobin out of the grass, urging him to prevent Becky and Cal from entering again.

Finally emerging in the church, armed with the knowledge that will seal their fates, Tobin prevents them from stepping into the grass—closing the loop and allowing Becky to decide to keep her baby as they drive away. Travis, listening from the field, finds peace as he succumbs to the grass. Through this haunting odyssey, the themes of fate, sacrifice, and the harrowing journey of acceptance intertwine, leaving a chilling impression of the darkness woven into the fabric of their lives.

Last Updated: November 15, 2024 at 16:35

Ending Explained – What Happens at the End of In the Tall Grass?

Still wondering what the ending of In the Tall Grass (2019) really means? Here’s a spoiler-heavy breakdown of the final scene, major twists, and the deeper themes that shape the film’s conclusion.

In the final moments of In the Tall Grass, Becky manages to escape Ross Humboldt by stabbing him in the eye, but she is overwhelmed by the figures in the tall grass that have been guiding her. They carry her to the Black Rock of the Redeemer, where she suffers a miscarriage in front of it. When she wakes, she finds Cal crouching over her, holding a bundle containing her dead fetus. The most disturbing scene follows: Becky loses consciousness again and awakens to find Cal feeding her something. She asks what she’s eating, and he nonchalantly replies, “Grass. Just grass.” Suddenly, she realizes that the food tastes like her own baby, revealing that Cal has been feeding her pieces of her miscarried child—an act of horrific consumption.

As Becky weakens, Travis and Tobin arrive at the clearing, only to be attacked—Travis stabs Ross with a broken bone, and Becky removes Ross’s remaining eye with her necklace in a desperate act of self-defense. Travis then kills Ross by strangulation with a bunch of grass but succumbs to his stab wound afterward. With his dying breath, Travis touches the black rock to understand how to escape the grass, and he is transported back, allowing Tobin to return to the church town safely. Meanwhile, Becky and Cal leave, while in the grass, Travis’s body is swallowed again, emphasizing the cyclical, torturous nature of the dimension.

The ending hints at a complex time loop. Tobin, who emerges from the church, appears to have traveled back in time before Becky and Cal entered the grass, warning them not to go in and showing them a bloody necklace—the same one Travis gave Toby—indicating they are caught in an endless cycle. The grass manipulates space and time, keeping the characters trapped in repetitions of death, where only touching the black rock offers an escape—though doing so leads to their complete assimilation into the grass itself. The film’s conclusion leaves viewers with an unsettling realization: some characters, like Ross and Natalie, remain irredeemably lost in the cycle, trapped forever within the grass, while Tobin’s fate is ambiguous but suggests he may have escaped, or at least, temporarily break free. Overall, the ending is a tragic and disturbing meditation on evil, choice, and the inescapable pull of primal forces that consume everything.

Last Updated: June 25, 2025 at 08:58

Unlock the Full Story of In the Tall Grass

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In the Tall Grass Timeline

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In the Tall Grass Timeline

Characters, Settings & Themes in In the Tall Grass

Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape In the Tall Grass. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.

Characters, Settings & Themes in In the Tall Grass

In the Tall Grass Ending Explained

What really happened at the end of In the Tall Grass? This detailed ending explained page breaks down final scenes, hidden clues, and alternate interpretations with expert analysis and viewer theories.

In the Tall Grass Ending Explained

In the Tall Grass Spoiler-Free Summary

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In the Tall Grass Spoiler-Free Summary

More About In the Tall Grass

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