
I’m pretty sure back in the day, I have talked about how much I appreciated the video rental culture. Most of my weekends consisted of my parents dragging me to the video rental store, picking out four to five VHS tapes with the promise that I would enjoy the flicks over the weekend. I can’t for the life of me remember how many hours I spent practically just browsing out the horror section in those several stores. It had cheap and B-grade chillers that I was madly addicted to.
Now we have “Night of the Harvest”, which feels like the present-day slasher titles that one would find at video rental stores (doesn’t sound flattering but it’s not). It is clearly a low-budget film and is made with a small number of people. Most of them are either in front of the camera or behind the camera. All of which makes it somewhat difficult to critique these types of films. It is an important part of modernization, or at least part of what we call progress. But on the other hand, it is rather pleasing to think about the die-hard creators who are trying to leave no stone unturned.
“Night of the Harvest” is co-directed by Christopher M. Carter and Jessica Morgan. The story was developed by Carter with Morgan who also wrote the script. Morgan has also acted in the film along with Brittany Isabell. Both Carter, Morgan, and Isabell are listed as producers. Carter was responsible for cinematography and Isbell related to stunt coordination. As I said, it’s a small crew serving many functions.
One year back, Madison (Isabell) escaped a horrific murder attempt. Suffering from the post trauma, she recently moved in with her elder sister Audrey (Morgan) who provides protection. It is Halloween night, and Audrey and her friends are busy preparing for their yearly Halloween night party. Audrey thinks it will be beneficial for her sister and persuades Madison to come.
Among the party invites are a number of people including Audrey’s boyfriend Dane (Jim Cirner), Will (Aeric Azana) who does not stop talking and is Dane’s best friend, the crazy Joyce (Autumn Gubersky), and the lovebirds Riley (Taylor Falshaw) and Jacob (Ashton Jordaan Ruiz). But things take a bloody turn when an axe-wielding maniac wearing a gruesome scarecrow mask starts chopping the group of friends who love the Halloween theme.
At this point, everything seems quite typical a crazed man covered by a mask, foolish characters somehow finding themselves in his game, and a variety of total annihilations. Yet, right at the outset, Carter and Morgan provide a twist that adds a shot of adrenaline to the critical plot outline. It would be unwise to, but it is such a change of pace that I would say the odds are good that it will be fun. This twist is the element that pushes ‘Night of the Harvest’ towards more graphic violence, enabling it to break away from the cliched narrative of the slasher.
Unfortunately, not all things are well. There is an entire subplot that entails the existence of an evil force that possesses a bloody harvest to bring about but it is wanting in development. It feels more ridiculous than eerie. It’s hard to ignore some of the actors’ overdramatic performances and awkward delivery styles. I have great respect for what this low-budget style slasher film stands for, and so cannot quite dismiss it. Because of these flaws, it is tough to recommend wholeheartedly. However, horror purists will enjoy themselves, as well as anyone who has a great appreciation for inventive films in the genre.
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