Dark Harvest

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the eve one

This films script is a complete mess. Trying to adapt a book isn't easy, and it shows. There's very little exposition, the plot is super rushed and there are way too many character. In a book that's fine, you have time to flesh things out...but not here. I was laughing at how confusing this movie was. I wouldn't recommend watching this for the story or script, it's convoluted and gave me a bad headache. Instead you can watch it for some really outstanding cinematography, lighting and a cool/creepy monster. I wish they had spent more time story boarding the plot and made this longer and more comprehendible. It's not why I would watch this, but more for the direction and what's going on visually. 5.5/10.

I've got a feeling that this review is going to be pretty short. I don't really have much to say about 2023's 'Dark Harvest.' It's set in a small American town where some sort of beastie is terrorising the local population, in particular a class of teenage boys who, decide one day to fight back. That doesn't sound so bad for a generic B-list horror movie. But it's just that nothing really happens throughout the film. Yes, the beastie occasionally pops out and kills someone and he's not so bad in terms of practical effects. However, this is few and far between and most of the film is just teenage boys (who you won't really like that much) arguing with each other. Parts of the film are shot at night. Nothing wrong with that - if the film-makers could actually light the sets properly and many a night scene comes across like it's been set in pure darkness. Worse still, by the halfway mark of the film, I had no real idea what the hell was going on. I hope it's not just that I'm losing braincells more and more every day, so hopefully that's just a personal problem. If you can stick with it there's a bit more carnage in the final act, but is it really enough to warrant sitting through the whole thing just to get to a sub-par finale?

Each halloween, one fictitious town in rural midwest America, undergoes an annual coming of age ritual, where the town's teenagers must fight each other to the death, while trying to survive- and kill- a demonic folk creature- called Sawtooth- who rises from the cornfields...in search of blood...and retribution. The result is a confusing pastiche of Pumpkinhead/Jeepers Creepers (the monster); The Purge/Hunger Games (the concept around which the plot is based); and The Warriors (how the kids group together, and pit off against one another). They call whatever the hell is going on "The Run"...though...you go through most of the film, without it being adequately explained what, why, or how such a bizarre ritual came to fruition. Let alone what purpose it serves. To be fair, an explanation is offered near the end of the film. But the whole first half is mucky and confusing, as a result of you not knowing what is actually going on. On the plus side...the acting is decent...there is some gore...and the monster is kind of cool. However, none of this makes up for the horribly constructed plot, and incredibly poor story structure. It is, apparently, based on a book (I'm not personally familiar with)...though, doesn't remain terribly true to the story in it. But if you are coming into it fresh and unaware...it's really hard to understand what is actually going on in the entire thing (up until you are given a bit of context, near the end of the film). No doubt, you can mindlessly watch it, and be somewhat entertained by the horror aspects of it. However, it's so poorly written...that if you attempt to engage it via any sort of logic...it's sure to lose you relatively quickly. All-in-all, I personally didn't find it to be a very rewarding experience. And that stands, whether you are coming into it fresh, or even (apparently) from having read the book. Which is unfortunate, because- while it's a pastiche, of sorts- the ending shows that it did have, at least, some potential...if it would have been done right. However, as it stands...it just doesn't live up to what it could have been. 3 out of 10.

This wasn't the greatest horror I've ever seen but it definitely felt like a 2000s horror and not the generic s**** for 'modern audiences' I thought this was going to be a 2-3 stsr movie going into it, it had its flaws but I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed the ride The acting was a bit cheesy at times and the story is a little all over the place, what you're left with is a chaotic b movie horror thriller. I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch if you fancy a turn your mind off kind of film. It's let down by some of the story (reactions to events in the movie mostly) however, I think I'm expecting to much realism for this kind of film. Felt like Husk vs Michael. Myers.

source: Dark Harvest

What an absolutely rubbish plot. I couldn't possibly come up with a more inane one even if I tried my hardest. Each Halloween parents lock up and starve their teenage sons for three days to make them hunt for a man-made monster, and the one to kill it gets a lot of goods for his family and a ticket out of town for himself. Famished, rabid kids get killed by the monster, by the adults and by each other in the process. All of this for the sake of... *checks notes* prosperity of the town. A couple of gory kills and a sterile cinematography are nowhere near enough to make this watchable or at least make a tiniest bit of sense.

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It's doesn't give you much more than that in terms of its own thing. The acting is decent. The effects are good. The gore is fun and plentiful. But I am just not entirely convinced by the experience as a cohesive whole. It does just seem like a bunch of ideas around a period in time that just don't gel for me. And I think a lot of it has to do with the bleak Manitoba filming location. It just seems off and disconnected. And the "twist" was pretty obvious fairly early in the film. I did like that that a lot of the participants dressed up for the event. Suits and ties didn't make any sense from a practical standpoint but I like the sentiment, especially given the old-fashioned year. It had rocking oldies on the soundtrack though.