Tall Grass
Tall Grass sees Love, Death & Robots move into a uniquely styled animated adventure, one in which a train suddenly judders to a stop. Outside are endless fields of tall grass and strange lights glowing in the distance. The conductor arrives and stops this man from venturing further. He needs to get back aboard before the train takes off. However, he’s enticed by the lights which continue to shimmer and dance in the distance. They seem to call toward him; an enticing siren song that cause this man to lose his way. Unfortunately the train takes off and this man is curses his luck as he snaps out of his trance and finds himself alone in the grass. Well, not for long. Creatures growl in the distance, eventually arriving in their droves. Charging through the tall grass, this man stumbles upon a crater where these creatures eventually grab him and pull the man back. The creatures fight among themselves though and look set to kill our protagonist until the conductor shows and scares the creatures back with fire. The pair scramble for the train, charging to catch up. They make it just in time as the conductor confirms that these creatures used to be humans. Safe for now, the pair wonder whether there could be a portal to another world out there as the episode comes to a close.
The Episode Review
Love, Death and Robots showcases a really unique animated style, one that showcases a simple chase but does so with lots of questions left unanswered. What are these creatures? Are they really humans? Why do they omit a blue glow? And is there really a portal to another world out there? This episode – like many other in this anthology – could so easily lead to a whole series unto itself, with a fascinating world set-up and this train seemingly on course for different stations amid a world blanketed in tall grass. Either way, this episode delivers an impressive showcase of animated talent backdropped by a simple but effective story. Story-wise there’s not quite enough here and the really short run-time could have done with another 5 minutes or so to really add to the dread. Despite that, there’s still enough here to like.
