Dark Harvest (2023) User Reviews

Dark Harvest: An unexpected treat

[Platypuschow · 7/10 · 7 March 2024]

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.

The Outsiders meet Pumpkinhead

[ianzgreat · 7/10 · 14 October 2023]

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.

Children of the Corn meets Pumpkinhead.

[paulclaassen · 6/10 · 14 October 2023]

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.

A scary old-school creature feature!

[wolfstor · 13 October 2023]

I did not expect much when this popped up on Amazon on a lazy Friday night. But for those of you that are into 80s-style -creature horror movies (although the plot is set in the 60s), this is for you. Without giving away too much, the story is nicely set up so you do not have that typical slasher movie. There is more to the cornfield killer and it is scary fun to find out. The movie's pace is slow at times, that's kind of a downside. But the dezent production design, the well-designed monster and the kind of graphic kill scenes make up for it. So if you are in the mood of watching a scary Halloween movie, this is for you!

Style over substance, with an obvious twist.

[hinkbert-90164 · 2/10 · 14 January 2024]

First off, if you want a movie with some cool shots and a few fun, gory scenes, then watch this movie.

If you want a coherent film with some originality, watch something else.

The plotting is rushed, there's little explanation for why any events are happening in the way they are happening. It's too shallow of a film to have any deeper meaning on social or cultural tones. I won't spoil any plot points, but there are too many instances of questioning why events are happening, in the manner they're happening, for the movie to make any logical sense. So if you want to watch a movie with logic and proper story telling, I'd go watch something else.

A fun take on folk horror that's rich in atmosphere and well-acted, even if it's very familiar and not overtly scary.

[IonicBreezeMachine · 7/10 · 14 October 2023]

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.

Dumber Games

[IzzyMaeDoorite · 3/10 · 18 October 2023]

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.

2000s nostalgia

[carlgarethnorton · 6/10 · 19 October 2023]

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.

Terrible adaption of the book.

[eabrig · 3/10 · 14 October 2023]

They replaced Pete who is the main character in the book with Richie. Mitch is alive in the book but died in the Film. How we are first introduced to Kelly is vastly different from the book. We do not see the Octoberboy driving. Dan commits suicide in the book due to his grief he doesn't do that in the film And the ending is so bad it drastically is different from the book. In the Book the Octoberboy makes it past midnight and the whole town goes ablaze. In my honest opinion it can be a fun Halloween movie to watch only if you don't read the book. If you read the book you will be vastly disappointed in this adaption.

Definitely one of the better new Horror Movies out there

[aaaf-2 · 7/10 · 25 October 2023]

Gorgeous cinematography, cool set design, good acting, an intriguing story, a great monster. The plot is a little bit too "out there" for me (I like my horror movies grounded in reality) and the movie doesn't really give an answer as to WHY the ritual is happening in the first place every year (if the answer is "for the town's prosperity" - well, why don't the citizens just leave the town with, you know, their beloved family members in one piece?). The violence is fun as well, though only people that the viewer doesn't know (and doesn't care about) get killed, so it definitely lacks punch.

On a sidenote: some of my fellow critics in this user-review section have obviously seen another film than I did (or they simply weren't paying attention). Some write this contains elements of The Hunger Games and that the boys have to kill themselves?! That is NOT the case! They are dehydrated, starving and out of their minds after 3 days of being locked in their rooms and let out to kill "the monster". That some of them turn against themselves is a result of the state they are in and of gang rivalry, as seen throughout the film.

TL, DR: Cool little Horror movie that you can enjoy if you don't think too much about the plot and rather enjoy it's stylish cinematography and monster design. Not a classic by any means, but definitely worthwhile!

not right here honey

[utkustein · 3/10 · 7 November 2023]

This one leaves much to be desired. The scenery is undoubtedly its strongest point, however, the ending was really disappointing.

The characters lack depth and their backgrounds are left unexplored, leaving the audience with a hollow understanding of their motivations and histories. I'm not really a horror enthusiast but I know that horror movies don't attach a lot of importance to characters' backgrounds, but I kind of wanted to know more background for some of the characters. This is particularly true for this character, Kelly, whose presence in the film seems to serve no purpose other than to tick a box for political correctness. Her character neither contributes nor detracts from the plot, making their inclusion feel forced and unnecessary.

The ending of the film is its biggest downfall. It fails to provide a satisfying conclusion, leaving viewers with more questions than answers. It seems unlikely that this ending would satisfy any audience other than horror genre enthusiasts. 3 / 10.

Unusual but fascinating and very well acted

[johannes2000-1 · 9/10 · 17 October 2023]

I expected the usual cliché slasher Halloween flick, but surprisingly it turned out as something quite different. Yes, it's about Halloween, there are pumpkinheads galore, there's some pretty hefty gore, there are creepy cornfields, and there's even a scarecrow involved. But director David Slade handled it all in a very unusual and cinematographically fascinating way, with beautiful visuals and inventive camera angles. The story is intricate and the logic is at times a bit hard to follow, but the atmosphere is definitely very creepy and dark, with an edgy, even cynical feel to it. The acting of all concerned is fine, Emyri Crutchfield for instance does a great job. But it's Casey Likes who stands out, he is absolutely amazing and totally convincing as the bewildered and exasperated, self-sacrificing hero-in-spite-of-himself, he impressively carries this whole project on his still young (21 yo) shoulders.

An original, unusual, fascinating and very welcome addition to the Halloween genre!

Other than making no sense, it's a perfectly fine seasonal watch

[paper-pagan · 6/10 · 16 October 2023]

It makes almost no sense, but it's not a bad watch for the season, and really well-filmed. The cinematography and acting are lovely. Even some of the twists, however predictable.

The parts that made no sense and put me out of the narrative - boys talking about it like it's a myth and yet every year it's publically killed and ripped to pieces in front of everybody ... The boys are given no real weapons and prepare zero strategy (ambush, maybe, anyone?) ... The body count during the hunt is insane, it's a total Purge evening. And the one girl who insists on secretly joining against the rules (I imagine it's to prevent girls getting r*ped and killed), actually wears a skirt during... And that's just the movie. The book never explains how this all started either, how the guild figured out the rules of the sacrifice, or how one cop prevented traumatized teenagers/parents from fleeing, what makes it even worthwhile, since the town isn't even all that well off... The list of weird inconsistencies goes on. But overall, I enjoyed it. Will watch Pumpkinhead next.

Jeepers Piñata's of the Corn

[danielcereto · 5/10 · 16 October 2023]

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.

Incoherent and rushed, but cool monster and cinematography

[zack_gideon · 5/10 · 23 October 2023]

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.

Did Some of These Reviewers Even Watch It?

[magicwood-82662 · 6/10 · 23 February 2024]

First off it's not a terrible movie if you're into supernatural/fantasy kind of movies. The acting is good and the effects are cool and it's not scary. Some reviewers mention a Cadillac but that's why I question their reviews. Who gets a Corvette mixed up with a Caddy? Anyway, it's a fun, don't think too much kind of movie. Yes it's predictable but then again what modern movie isn't.

Premise: Kids have to hunt a supernatural being one night before midnight. Whomever kills the creature is celebrated and his family receives perks. It's sort of hunger games meets children of the corn, with a dash of a Halloween movie.

It's a Shirley Jackson, Children of the Corn, Hunger Games, Pumpkinhead thing.

[Otkon · 5/10 · 14 October 2023]

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.

The book was better...

[sue-77 · 7/10 · 15 October 2023]

This wasn't a bad film. A nice little Halloween flick with some great gore effects, but unfortunately it's typical of many films based on novels... the book was better.

Not going to spoil any plot details, but you definitely get more details about what is going on with this creepy little town if you read the novel.

The novel also shows the story from several perspectives including the monsters which is something the movie leaves out, much to it's detriment.

The director did Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night so you can expect some hard hitting moments. I liked his dark style of filming and the incredible tension this reclusive, insular town seethes with and the violence that erupts. I do wish some answers regarding the history of the 'curse' was more fleshed out.

Full blown sleeper

[d_penn · 1/10 · 19 October 2023]

Full Spoilers ahead

I seriously can't able to figure out what came to director's mind and made this movie. There should be a head and tail for story, here we can see only one big pumpkin head walking scare crow without logic. Plot wise, every year Farmers guild put a contest to all teens in town to kill "Sawtooth Jack" for big house and car. The winner family will take the prize and winner will disappear, none will ask about his whereabouts. Where is logic behind walking scare crow? What is town back story for this ridiculous contest? Why town folks has to starve the kids for 3 to 4 days if they have to fight with pumpkin head monster? Why secret guild have to kill the winner and make him as next year's monster, can't they just put that to an end? Why all the town kids and teens behaving like either bullies or maniacs? Why parents have to put their own kids in danger? Is it for luxuries? Like this from beginning to end we have thousands of questions which will go unanswered. I want to put it as straight as possible and simple, Director might have a different vision, but it got over powered by ridiculous story and illogical narrative ofcourse terrible actors and acting as well. Overall, kids may like it for its simple creepy horror when it comes to the adults, Hard pass. I gave 1 star for its creepy town backdrop(Cinematography) and lil bit plot vision.

Nostalgic horror field

[Stanlee107 · 6/10 · 29 October 2023]

I recently viewed the film Dark Harvest, and it diverged from my expectations. It's a contemporary movie set in the 1950s, drawing inspiration from classic films like Jeepers Creepers, Halloween, Children of the Corn, and a touch of The Purge.

Within an isolated country community, teenagers partake in an annual tradition of hunting and killing a creature before midnight on Halloween. Success promises the community a "good harvest" for the upcoming year, but not without a heavy toll on the main characters.

The 1950s setting injects a unique angle into the overworked horror genre, capturing my interest and providing enjoyable entertainment until the end. Despite foreseeing the final twist midway through, it didn't diminish the fun of the experience. Overall, it stands as a decent choice for a Halloween horror film to watch during the night.

Boring movie with the most predictable of twists

[twesterm-10433 · 3/10 · 7 November 2023]

So this movie is based on a twist revealed late in the 2nd act but if you were to ask anyone who watches the first 10 minutes of the movie that if this movie had a twist, what would it be? They would 100% get it right.

I mean this movie isn't exactly The 6th Sense where it depends on that big reveal, but it is a pretty major part of the movie. It's amazing that nobody in this entire town has never bothered to ask the question that the main character asks about an hour into the movie. The really unfortunate part about this is that once they ask this question there's still another 30 minutes left in this borefest of a movie.

I don't know what else to say about this movie.

You will see the twist coming from a mile away

They never really bother explain the why of the twist, just that it is the way it is.

There really is zero lore development in this movie, just all the boys of a certain age in this town are tasked to kill this monster every year.

The kills and effects aren't bad but they also aren't interesting.

The last act of this movie is so focused on that twist that they never bother going into other question that weren't answered in the first 10 minutes. Why does this spirit haunt the town every Halloween? Why is it only 18 year old boys that can hunt it? Why the starvation? What happened that made this year go so badly? Why has nobody bothered asking the *really* obvious question that answers this movies twist?

It doesn't answer or even bother asking any of those questions. It's just a bland movie. Barely even a popcorn flick.

Extremely imaginitive horror.

[Patient444 · 8/10 · 15 October 2023]

Dark Harvest is the bomb! It is a lovely surprise, a movie coming out of nowhere, with a lovely hint of The Running Man 1987, but still being its own thing.

Honestly, to me, it is the year's horror, surpassing Talk to me, Cobweb, Boogeyman or It lives inside.

Everything about it was done with flair and grace, embracing the old, but adapting for the present. I loved the plot, characters, direction and especially the fact that if it felt clichee, it had every right to do so because of the time set. A horror with brains, truly nicely executed, that simply puts you in a happy place because you're watching something so fresh and so nice, even tho nothing announced this one.

Dark Harvest is a definite recommendation for any horror fan, finally something better in its full form, not just picking out pieces and calling it an almost success. Really glad I decided to give this a try.

Cheers!

Enjoyable Halloween movie

[mrmajority · 7/10 · 20 October 2023]

I really enjoyed this movie, didn't know what to expect as it was released on prime this month. I was unaware of the book and being from the UK i have not heard of any folk tales previously.

This movie was fun, had a balance of horror, suspense and excitement. It doesn't take itself too seriously and I particularly enjoyed the fact it is an 18 rated movie (R) to our US cousins which meant it was made for us that like movies and not ruined by corporations. In an age where Disney churns out so much rubbish this really impressed me.

The protagonist is likeable and whilst many viewers will work out what happened to his brother fairly early on it doesn't spoil the outcome.

No idea where this was heading

[bowmanblue · 4/10 · 22 October 2023]

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?

Made Zero Sense

[patrickbivona · 2/10 · 10 March 2024]

This movie made zero sense. Part Pumpkinhead, part The Purge set in the 1960's. This film was trying to be too many things at once, which just made it confusing and dull.

The setting in the 1960's failed terribly with bad wardrobes and set design. The acting is OK at best, except the adults...they were all absolutely terrible. This movie isn't even fun for being a bad horror movie, it's just plain bad.

The only thing decent was the Sawtooth Jack creature itself. Even if it is a ripoff of Pumpkinhead.

If you are looking for a newer creature horror movie, go watch Barbarian. Do kot waste your time on this garbage.