The Harvest

The Harvest came out of nowhere for me. It's a film about power and deception, which makes for a truly fantastic film. This film gets well under your skin, making it a very effective psychological thriller, NOT a horror. The one thing I truly love about this film is that it gets straight to the point. It starts off fast, there is no filler, every scene has a point and the finally is epic and perfectly paced.

The Harvest really did surprise me. With such low user ratings, I was expecting something overly pretentious or just plain bad; both of these it was not. If there could be one criticism it would be the lack of suspense leading up to the unveiling, but other than that, nothing is at fault.

John McNaughton, Master of Horror. The mastermind who brought Clive Barker's twisted words to life in Haeckel's Tale. The man who introduced the world to The Borrower. He reminded us what real-life horror looks like with HENRY, now brings you a all new psychological horror film entitled: The Harvest.

The film stars fan favorites Peter Fonda, Michael Shannon, Samantha Morton, Charlie Tahan (From TV Series GOTHAM) and Natasha Calis. The movie starts off with a incident that thankfully ends up with a blessed outcome. That incident, introduces us to Katherine (played by Samantha Morton) who is caring for her sick invalid son, Andy (played by Charlie Tahan) alongside her husband (played by Michael Shannon). The atmosphere in the film from the get go already has a precursor of things to come.

Like most psychological horror films, there is the slow burn. That being said, the film seems to intertwine between two families and the maelstrom of chaos that unravels.

The unraveling begins with Maryann (played by Natasha Calis), Andy's new neighbor and ONLY friend. She moves into the neighborhood with her grandparents (played by Leslie Lyles and the ever so cool Peter Fonda), after the death of her parents. The two then, form an unlikely friendship. So much in fact that, the caring demeanor of his mother suddenly takes a turn from sweet yet tired to a more domineering almost "Annie Wilkes like persona".

The two friends continue to see each other even at the warnings of both families. As, their friendship grows so does the tension between Mother and Son. Samantha Morton's acting ability truly shows in this film, it's my favorite performance of hers next to "CONTROL". This woman really begs to be hated. Michael Shannon's acting in this film also shows range from his usual bad guy roles. He truly plays the role of a grieving father quite masterfully, so much to where you begin to feel his sadness and pain, it's simply brilliant.

As the tensions rise between both Maryann and Katherine, so does the viewing of this film. It really grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go once you reach the 50 minute mark. John's directing style really adds to the intensity once the film picks up. There is a twist ending that appears, I did NOT see coming!

The Harvest is another example that psychological horror films are not dead. If you are a fan of the genre and enjoy good slow burn with a brilliant payoff ending, then give this film a watch!

Adventurous girl befriends a dying boy and uncovers a dark secret.

This is carefully put together and well acted by the girl and boy. The obsessive mother looked like she was heading for Kathy Bates intensity, but I think the punches were pulled in the end.

Problem I had with this was it starts as a conventional family drama and only ups the stakes halfway through, and even then it never develops a sense of menace. It's as if they thought the plot reveal alone would elevate the story beyond the Nancy Drew level.

Also the pace is pedestrian. The director gets the technicals spot on, but I guess the screenplay didn't give enough to allow the tension to mount.

Settling in to bed for a movie I did my random pick and mix and was presented with The Harvest which was mistakenly advertised as a horror, I can assure you that it isn't.

Starring modern day Zod himself Michael Shannon it is a well constructed fascinating little mystery that tells the story of an ill child with his overbearing mother.

It's one of those films that I was drawn into but didn't know quite why, however was eager to find out just quite where it was going.

The pivotal reveal turns the tide of the movie, and I mean that in a good way. The story takes shape, the cast do a stellar job and this under the radar movie I'd never heard of actually succeeded in blowing me away.

I can't say much about The Harvest without ruining it, I will merely say this is a masterworks in filmmaking and though not flawless is still a highly impressive little film.

The Good:

Very well written

Performances are flawless

Perfectly paced

The Bad:

A couple of unanswered questions linger

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Michael Shannon has one facial expression, I'm starting to think it's a mask

I do love a good Michael Shannon film, if he wasn't in it, it wouldn't have caught my eye and I wouldn't have watched it. The mum also plays a crazy mum in the recent seasons of the walking dead and she plays it perfectly in this and that. I like the massive twist, if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. The film isn't bad, it's nothing special but it's definitely not an L.