Sort the signal from the noise in Amazon’s sci-fi mystery The Vast of Night

The Vast of Night is Amazon Studio’s upcoming sci-fi mystery that’s been earning plenty of positive buzz, especially for its performances and cinematography, following its screenings at various film festivals over the last year. Making that buzz even more impressive is that it’s the debut feature from director Andrew Patterson and writers James Montague and Craig W. Sanger.

Set in 1950’s New Mexico, Sierra McCormick stars as Fay, a telephone switchboard operator who discovers a strange signal playing over the wires. Intrigued by the mysterious signal and hoping to discover where it could be from and what it means, she approaches her local radio station where the DJ, Everett (Jake Horowitz), plays the signal to his listeners with the hope of uncovering information leading to its origins. This idle curiosity leads the pair on a scavenger hunt across their small town and beyond as they slowly home in on the origin point of the signal and its senders.

The official plot synopsis is as follows:

In the twilight of the 1950s, on one fateful night in New Mexico, a young, winsome switchboard operator Fay (Sierra McCormick) and charismatic radio DJ Everett (Jake Horowitz) discover a strange audio frequency that could change their small town and the future forever. Dropped phone calls, AM radio signals, secret reels of tape forgotten in a library, switchboards, crossed patchlines and an anonymous phone call lead Fay and Everett on a scavenger hunt toward the unknown.

Let’s take a look:

I love a good mystery, and even more so if there’s some sci-fi thrown in, and this definitely seems like a good one. I’m also quite impressed by the look of the movie – you’d never say it was the work of first-time movie makers and they’ve definitely stretched the budget to make it look good too.

What do you think?

The Vast of Night will be released in US theatres on 13 March before heading off to Prime Video shortly afterwards. It also stars Gail Cronauer, Bruce Davis, Cheyenne Barton, and Gregory Peyton.

Last Updated: February 11, 2020