Notizie

America’s obsession with serial killers has made posthumous industries of Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and others, while providing a foundation for the entire “true-crime” genre onscreen and in print. How much is too much, when it comes to this popular fixation? Well, one measure might be the existence of “Strange Harvest,” an elaborate faux documentary about a fictitious serial slayer. Subtitled “Occult Murder in the Inland Empire,” Stuart Ortiz’s feature maintains its ruse convincingly right up to the final credits, when those who stumble in blind might be surprised to find actors credited with playing all the supposed “real people.”

It’s worth asking why a stunt like this is even desirable. Wouldn’t a more conventionally staged horror movie provide better opportunity for suspense and thrills, being unconstrained by requirements of mimicking reportage? Probably yes. But beyond the admiration generated by its immaculate imitation of tabloid journalism,...

Those of us who are film critics, especially ones who cover horror, watch so many movies that it’s hard to find one that leaves us genuinely shaken. One of the scariest movies of the year thanks to how effectively it conjures up a threat that feels genuinely and thoroughly sinister, Stuart Ortiz’s Strange Harvest will have you both looking away and on the edge of your seat — a combination that will prove to be completely unforgettable.

Strange Harvest Review

Strange Harvest is a horror “mockumentary” following a group of detectives on the hunt for a serial killer named “Mr. Shiny,” known for committing a series of grotesque, ritualistic murders tied to an otherworldly force. Much like the films it references, Ortiz’s movie draws viewers in with a twisted, twisty mystery that will leave viewers shaken by the evil potential of humanity.

Stylistically, Ortiz has the grammar of...

As we prepare for the spooky season, Collider is continuing our celebration of Summerween with a brand-new found footage horror, Strange Harvest. We’re thrilled to announce that we’re partnering with Saban Films and Roadside Attractions to offer our readers and the horror community the chance to catch this original feature on the big screen ahead of the crowds with an advanced screening. In addition to the movie, we'll invite writer-director Stuart Ortiz (Grave Encounters) and the movie’s most sadistic star,Jessee Clarkson, who plays the terrifying “Mr. Shiny,” on stage for an exclusive Q&a conversation. Read on for the full details on how to enter for your chance to win free tickets.

Officially opening in theaters on August 8, Strange Harvest (previously titled Strange Harvest: Occult in the Inland Empire) is an account of the brutal Southern California murders by the serial killer known as Mr. Shiny...

The endless ribbons of Southern California freeway, viewed from above, form a circuit board of profound loneliness. In this sprawling, sun-bleached noir landscape, individuals are merely points of light, their comings and goings a meaningless pattern until one light blinks out.

Or, far worse, begins to move with a predatory intelligence. Strange Harvest posits such a predator, a bogeyman for the cul-de-sac, a ghost story born from the very real anxieties of the Inland Empire. The film presents itself as a retrospective, a true-crime documentary revisiting the cold case of a killer christened “Mr. Shiny.”

We enter the narrative years after the fact, when a gruesome 2010 family murder, executed with chilling ritualism, signals the return of a phantom who had vanished for a decade and a half. The story is not merely a hunt for a man. It is a descent into a methodical madness, an attempt to find the...

The new video from thrash metal legends Anthrax, Blood Eagle Wings, is so ghoulishly gory you’ll never believe yer eerie eyeballs (and you can see it below, my creeps!) So naturally I had to send out an invite via carrier crow for the clips die-rector Jack Bennett to join us for a lil’ convo in the Crypt o’ Xiii, and wadda ya know, here he is now!

Famous Monsters. Let’s get right down to brass tacks, Jack! How did the story for Blood Eagle Wings evolve? Jack Bennett. It just began with Scott Ian sending me the song and saying it was about how civilizations evolve throughout history on a foundation of violence. He only had two stipulations about the video; he didn’t want it to be performance-based, so no band playing the song, and there had to be someone actually blood eagle’d onscreen, which I had to look up.