The Horror Show
The Harvest
by John McNaughton
I stumbled upon this horror film without realizing The Harvest was the same film a coworker had been raving to me about only a week before I actually watched it. I didn’t watch a trailer for it, I just liked the simple description on IMDB: A couple who keeps their sick son in a secluded environment find their controlled lives challenged by a young girl who moves in next door.
I thought, hmm, well this could be any number of horrific things going on in this family’s house, so why not give it a try.
If you decide to watch The Harvest, I have to warn you, the first 30 minutes are painful. The acting is horribly B, the story is extremely slow to start, and you just really have no idea how the hell this movie can be considered horror until you hit the moment of payoff.
I urge you to please be patient with this film because it is definitely worth the watch.
In the style of Misery, Samantha Morton shines as Katherine, the overbearing and psychotic mother. She is emotionally abusive toward her husband, Richard, played by Michael Shannon (who also is perfect in his role), and her son Andy (Charlie Tahan) seems to get the worst of her abuse. You know what they say, shit rolls downhill.
Andy is kept locked away in the house because of his “condition” and he seems to be getting weaker and weaker, every day closer to succumbing to his illness. His father, once a nurse, is illegally purchasing drugs from a pharmaceutical sales rep to help his son (and it’s clear he’s having an affair with her) while his mother, a surgeon, controls everything in his life from what he does with his time to who he interacts with. When a girl Andy’s age moves in next door, Andy is excited; for the first time in his life he’s met someone outside of his family, someone that he can call a friend.
When Andy’s mother finds out that Maryann (Natasha Calis) has been sneaking in through Andy’s window and hanging out with him, she throws Maryann out of the house and forbids her from any further interaction with Andy. Maryann of course ignores Katherine’s wishes and continues her friendship with Andy in secret. When Katherine comes home early one day and Maryann must hide in the basement, she uncovers a horrifying secret and realizes she must do whatever it takes to rescue her friend from this house of horrors.
It was quite strange watching The Harvest because halfway through the movie it was as if someone flipped a switch and suddenly the actors were doing their jobs: acting. They transformed from dull, lifeless shells into these actual characters with real depth. The storyline has some seriously sinister reveals, and I was extremely pleased with the way the film ended.
If you’re looking for a blood and gore fest, you’re not gonna find it in The Harvest, but you will find a shocking story that will chill you to the core. It’s movies like this that remind me that somewhere out in this sick, dark world, something like this could actually be happening. And I think that’s where the true horror of The Harvest can be found.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
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