The American Midwest is full of strange and mysterious farms. It’s a wonder why anyone still lives in them. This fact is particularly true in Tate Bunker and Anthony Wood’s The Field as married couple Ben (Tim Higgins) and Lydia (Kara Mulrooney) succumb to their mid-life crisis by moving to a secluded farm in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
From the moment they take possession of the property, mysterious events begin to happen. Former chef Ben decides to take up photography on the farm as his new creative outlet. While Ben and Lydia are making out under a bedsheet in the field, Ben sets up his camera to record their lovemaking by automatically taking a picture every second. Later that night, alone in the barn Ben is reviewing the photos and sees a mysterious figure in the background. But no one was there in the field.
“…Ben is reviewing the photos and sees a mysterious figure in the background…”
The next day, Ben runs into an older woman Edith (Veronica Cartwright). She lives just on the boundaries of Ben’s farm and was walking through. As luck would have it, Edith acts strange and has a secret. Soon Ben heads into town to show people photos of the mysterious man in the background. The townfolk goes berserk, including art gallery owner George (Barry Bostwick), the local law Sheriff Roy (Mark Metcalf), and diner waitress Kathy (Alicia Rice).
Meanwhile, at the house, Lydia is going through old photos left by the previous owners featuring various creepy cult-like images. What’s happened? Could Edith, the mysterious man, and the cult have something in common? Why is everyone in town now angry with the young couple?
"…it's so damn gorgeous to watch"
I think we we must have seen different movies because nicely composed scenery in no way saves this movie or makes it worthy of 7 out of 10 stars, I know I’m harsh but crap is crap and I’ve seen enough good and bad cinema to know the difference, this movie isn’t worth the time wasted watching it.
In contrast I liked the fact that most of the shots were during the day. It wasnt about being spooky or creepy but seemed a bit more realistic as these kids of storms definately happiness in the mid west during the day and ghosts dont just show up at night. Yes beautiful cinematography and the effects were great.
The music is clearly an original composition. Per the credits, it is credited to Peter Batchelder.
Hi Alan,
I was just reading your review of The Field, and I thought you might like to know that I am Peter Batchelder, the guy in the credits who wrote all the original music for the film… so, I’m not a music bed service, but in fact, a real person. I’m very glad you enjoyed the original music that I wrote for the film.