Film of the Day: "The Vast of Night" — Sci-Fi You Definitely Missed. And That's a Shame

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You most likely haven't seen it. And if you have heard of it, you didn't pay attention. And that's a shame.

"The Vast of Night" (2019) is one of the most stylish and surprisingly smart sci-fi films of the last decade. No millions in the budget, no stars on the poster — but with genuine immersive power and thick atmosphere.

The film dropped on Amazon Prime and almost immediately got lost in the content shuffle. And that's unfair. Because what we have here is a real gift for anyone who loves old-school sci-fi in the spirit of Ray Bradbury and early Spielberg, but with modern edge and auteur vision.

What's it about?

America, 1950s. A radio DJ (Jake Horowitz) and a young switchboard operator (Sierra McCormick) accidentally intercept a strange signal broadcasting through the airwaves. Someone — or something — is making contact. The small town seems to freeze, and a chain of mysterious, frighteningly realistic events begins.
The Vast of Night trailer
"The Vast of Night" has no monsters, no action sequences, no familiar clichés. Instead — cold silence, long uncut scenes, and the feeling that you're standing on the threshold of something unexplainable.

Why should you watch it?

First, for its boldness. Director Andrew Patterson literally made this film on a shoestring, spending less than a million dollars. And turned it into one of the most stylish debuts of the year.

Second, for the atmosphere — hypnotic editing, muted colors, sweeping shots through night-time streets — all of this makes the film feel like a dream you don't want to wake up from.

And third — for the concept. This isn't a story about aliens, it's about human curiosity, loneliness, and faith that we're not alone. Okay, it's also about aliens, but to a lesser extent.

What's the film based on?

The story was inspired by the real Kecksburg incident in Pennsylvania that happened on December 9, 1965. According to "Wikipedia," thousands of people across six U.S. states and Canada witnessed a fireball streaking across the night sky.
A girl with headphones and a man in glasses looking in different directions against a blue background
The Vast of Night poster
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Some said meteor, others said "something else." Later NASA claimed it was fragments of a Soviet satellite, but... the reports mysteriously disappeared in 1987. Since then, the case has been shrouded in rumors and entered UFO folklore as "Pennsylvania's Roswell." And it's exactly this semi-official mystery that became the seed from which "The Vast of Night" grew.

If you're craving sci-fi with soul — here it is. No explosions and no abundance of special effects. But with that exact feeling we love movies for in the first place. Earlier we at zoomboola.com told you about "The Guest" — when the perfect stranger turns out to be a nightmare with a military past.