By Geno McGahee
Charles Manson and the Manson family make up a very popular and dark piece of American history. In THE FIELDS, we get a window into that time when the madness was happening and evidence that the Manson family were not the only group of murderous hippies.
Steven (Joshua Ormond) is a young boy that witnesses his father’s abusive ways, which include the vision of a shotgun put to his mother’s head. His mother, played by Tara Reid, drops him off at her in-laws home. Her mother-in-law, played by Cloris Leachman, and father-in-law played by Bev Appleton, takes in their grandson and that’s when things begin to get strange.
A morbid fascination with the Manson family and horror movies develops for young Steven. He is drawn to them and drawn to the mystery of the surrounding cornfields. He is told by his grandparents not to walk into the cornfields, but his curiosity gets the best of him and he stumbles upon a dead body. His report of the find goes virtually ignored and chalked up to his obsession with horror and the Manson family.
Tara Reid, although not in the film a great deal, has really matured as an actress. She was very believable in the role. Leachman was the star of the movie and really did a great job going through various emotions naturally. When her two dogs are missing and presumed dead, her fear and sadness came off as very natural. She is an amazing actress and she put her skills on display in this film. I was very impressed.
Steven finds a cult of hippy killers hiding out and they soon make it a point to find him, coming through the fields and attacking the house. At one point, in one of the creepiest scenes I’ve seen in recent film history, the leader of this cult is hiding under Steven’s bed. His wardrobe and mannerisms were very eerie. I wasn’t expecting him to be there.
THE FIELDS does a great job capturing the time. The look of the movie, the style of the filming and the overall atmosphere brought you to the 1970s. The cast was very good across the board and I found it very interesting and entertaining. This isn’t a film of cheap scares. It’s a thriller that sits with you well after the movie ends. I highly recommend it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7.5/10
