Dark Harvest

Set in the town of Bastion, Illinois, every Halloween an entity known as Sawtooth Jack (Dustin Ceithamer) with the head of a pumpkin and a heart of sweets comes from the cornfields with its ultimately end goal to reach the church in the center of town before midnight which will bring a blight upon the town. In the days leading up to his arrival, all the older teenage male citizens of the town are locked in their rooms and starved for several days until they take part in a run where they go about the streets of Bastion and hunt down Sawtooth Jack with the winner garnering wealth and prestige for one's family as well as a car and means to leave the town behind. Richie Shepherd (Casey Likes) decides to take part in the run despite it being against the rules as his older brother Jim (Britain Dalton) won last year with Ritchie now seen as a black sheep by the community including Officer Jerry Ricks (Luke Kirby) who enforces the rules of the run. As the run approaches, Ritchie teams with Kelly Haines (E'myri Crutchfield) to take part in the run and uncovering the truth behind its origins.

Dark Harvest is an adaptation of the 2006 horror novel by Norman Partridge. The film was initially setup at New Regency under the direction of David Slade with Michael Gilio writing the adaptation until the project was put into turnaround and saw it wind up at MGM. While initially intended for a September 2021 release, the film was rescheduled and pulled from its release twice with the first time being due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the second time being without explanation. The movie's had a very quiet release with a one night only run at the Alamo Drafthouse followed by a digital release. As this will be the last film to be distributed under the MGM logo, it's most likely been a victim of the recent Amazon acquisition of MGM and is probably being burned off to fulfill contractual obligations hence why it hasn't been given a major push. Watching Dark Harvest, it really is a shame it's not getting its due because it's a solid small town folk horror that I really enjoyed.

From the 1960s period and rural Illinois setting, Dark Harvest does a solid job of establishing that small town midwestern vibe you look for in a movie like this. The movie plays like a mixture of The Wicker Man, Pumpkinhead, and a seasoning of Stephen King's The Long Walk with a seasoning of The Purge and there's a lot of unapologetic bloody carnage that takes place in the hunt for Sawtooth Jack. Casey Likes and E'myri Crutchfield do a solid job as first time feature leads and you do care about them as characters. Admittedly I was never scared by Dark Harvest and from the opening where Jim Shepherd drives off I had a pretty good idea of where the movie would be going from that point, but for the most part I was kept engaged with the story as Slade and Gilio keep the pacing tight and focused so it never felt like it was dragged out.

It's honestly a shame that Dark Harvest got lost in the shuffle during the Amazon/MGM merger because it's an entertaining small scale genre film that's well-made and solidly acted. While it's no genre breakout or anything I enjoyed it about as much or better than Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adaptation from a few years ago and I do hope the film manages to find an audience.

What about mixing movies like Jeepers Creepers, The Purge and The Children of the Corn?... The result is Dark Harvest, a missed opportunity.

First, it looks like director wanted to do something different but copying ideas from other movies. The result is not as good as it could have been. Bland cast, predictable script and lame ending. To add, it is based on a book that looks like to be far better. Didn't know it.

Second, Fx's are good. Nowadays, I always expect the worse, but I enjoyed here the creature, aka Piñata, his moves and skills. A shame they do not show it more killing people.

Last, the script is full of plot holes and overall it makes no sense. A shame, because with a more risky script/story it could have been the beginning of a great horror franchise. The killer Piñata!! Lol

Anyway, the movie is watchable but if you're a fan of the genre is not as great as it want to be. For example, Jeepers Creepers (2001), is a masterpiece compared to this one.

I found this film to be an absolute blast of a mashup. It felt like The Outsiders meets Pumpkinhead. Is it perfect? Not at all. Is it fun and well made? Heck yes. It looks great, it's well acted with excellent special effects. A few parts are clunky, but luckily they're counter balanced by all the good stuff. It's a Halloween treat to behold. It's not scary in my opinion, but it's often tense and the action scenes are well choreographed and bloody. It feels like a throwback to the simpler storytelling of 80s genre pictures. I don't think it will ever make any top 100 horror lists, but it's destined to become a cult hit. Without overthinking it, I recommend it.

Within the opening few minutes, I noticed the stunning photography and visuals. Since I enjoy attention to detail and a director's effort to make a film look good on screen, 'Dark Harvest' already won me over within the first couple of minutes.

Every year just before Halloween, a scarecrow named Sawtooth Jack (not sure why the synopsis says October Boy, as this is never mentioned in the film) comes to life to kill teenagers. Days before, teens taking part in The Run are locked in their rooms and starved for three days. Thereafter, they go out hunting Sawtooth Jack. The winner receives money and a luxury car, and his parents receive a big house. This 'sacrifice' ensures a good crop for the rest of the year.

Richie's brother Jim won The Run the previous year, received his car and is believed to be traveling the world. He hasn't been seen or heard of since. This year, Richie is determined to do the Run. His parents tries to forbid him, and their actions convinced me there was more than meets the eye to this annual event.

There's a great deal of gore in the film, with kill scenes swift and unexpectedly. The make-up effects are really good. The film is atmospheric and as mentioned earlier, this film looks darn amazing! I've seen many scarecrow movies over the years, but I think this is still one of the scariest looking scarecrow villains. In fact, Sawtooth Jack reminded me a bit of a younger Pumpkinhead.

There are twists almost until the moment the credits roll, and when it does, some viewers might be disappointed at the outcome, and some might be excited with the prospect of a sequel or even a franchise. I enjoyed this very much.

Plot

In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town's teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.

Cast

Written and directed with chaps with a lot of experience and starring Jeremy Davies (Who is excellent here). The rest of the young cast are very middle of the road for what they bring to the table here.

Verdict

I had no idea what I was walking into, it was movie night and not wanting to sail through an ocean of movies to make my choice I went with the first horror movie with interesting cover art and the rest is history.

The first thing I noticed was the incredible cinematography, they nailed it here. Even though it's mostly in the dark it looks the part, so very very impressive. Next the premise took me back, though not unique it's fairly original and I appreciated that in a world of generic horror movies. And the third thing? The kills, bloody, brutal and impactful and I appreciated that as all I see lately are terrible cut-away deaths which are just pitiful.

So the film looks the part, the writing is perfectly passable and the movie consistently delivers the thrills, the spills and the engaging plot. It's downside? The finale could have been better, it's not awful but it does let the film down as it's definitely a lower tier of quality to the rest of the movie.

Rants

See, isn't it great when we get something original? Something that's not a remake, a reboot, a unnecessary sequel, part of a franchise? I love it, let's see more of this. Prove the nay sayers wrong who insist the industry is in its death throes due to the lack of imagination from modern day writers.

Breakdown

Fantastic plot Incredible cinematography Impressive kills Well constructed Some of the cast could have done a better job Weak finale.