Dark Harvest Review: A Halloween Treat For Horror Fans
My heart belongs to Halloween. Pumpkins, cornfields, bright orange sunsets, chilly air, masks, dead leaves on the dirty ground — the whole shebang. As long as I can I remember, I've been obsessed with all things Halloween; to me, it's the most wonderful time of the year. So I'm kind of already in the tank for David Slade's stylish little Halloween treat "Dark Harvest." Adapted from the novel by Norman Partridge, "Dark Harvest" is bloody fun; a treat bag full of Halloween imagery tailor-made to trick people like me into loving it almost unconditionally. However, the closer you look, the more flaws appear — Michael Gilio's script is underbaked, and the film feels like it just sort of runs out of steam instead of actually ending.
But oh, the atmosphere is a delight, and the Halloween vibes are off the charts. Slade and cinematographer Larry Smith overload the movie with evocative visuals meant to conjure up the feeling of pouring over an old Ray Bradbury paperback, or old-school trick-or-treating when the sun has just set and the night feels pregnant with ghosts and ghouls. Perhaps the ideal way to watch "Dark Harvest" is with the sound off, a John Carpenter vinyl blasting in the background, the imagery speaking for the picture in ways the script cannot. This is a wobbly film, but gosh, I loved looking at it.
It's 1963, and Halloween is approaching. In one small Midwestern town, this is no ordinary night. No, every year on the 31st of October, a scarecrow ghoul named Sawtooth Jack stumbles out of the cornfields, ready to wreak havoc. The town's teenage boys are all tasked with stopping Jack in a Lord of the Flies-like ritual that has masked kids hooting and hollering through the night, amped-up, over-hungry, and half-mad. The boy who kills Jack will be rewarded with a hefty sum of money and a new car. So what if Jack is just going to come back next year, seemingly unharmed? Tradition is tradition.
Halloween vibes
One year ago (the film opens in 1962, with a kid wearing a JFK mask being brutally murdered a full year before the real JFK would meet his own demise), teenager Jim Shepard (Britain Dalton) defeated Sawtooth Jack, splitting open the creature's pumpkin skull and feasting on the innards. There was much celebrating, with Jim's family reaping the rewards as Jim himself cruised off into the night in his new car.
Now, Halloween has come around again, and Jim's younger brother Richie (Casey Likes) wants to participate in the annual event, even though his parents insist he doesn't have to — the Shepard family already "won" once, after all. But Richie is insistent on partaking in the Halloween hunt, even though bullies at school think less of him and would rather see him sit this one out. As the night approaches, Richie meets Kelly (E'myri Crutchfield), another outcast since she's seemingly the only Black person in town, and she, too, will end up participating in the battle against Jack, even though the ritual usually only involves teenage boys.
There's some murky stuff in here about mysteries of the town — the event is sponsored by an all-powerful group known as The Harvester's Guild, and the town's very angry sheriff (Luke Kirby) clearly knows more than he's letting on. But all of that feels like window dressing; it's clumsily handled and not very captivating. What is captivating, though, is the film's Halloween atmosphere. We're treated to countless shots of cornfields, and backlit characters donning cool masks, and streets full of rowdy teens gone wild. Then there's the monster himself, a creature with a pumpkin head and a spindly body, stalking through town and spilling copious amounts of blood in the process.
"Dark Harvest" is ultimately a film of style over substance, but hell, that style sure is grand. I don't think anyone will be calling this a new Halloween classic, but it's definitely an experience that can coast on v i b e s, and what great vibes they are. I didn't love "Dark Harvest," but I loved basking in its atmosphere. Happy Halloween.
/Film Rating: 6 out of 10