Norman Partridge’s 2006 Bram Stoker Award-winning novel Dark Harvest introduced a grim Halloween hunt set in a scenic 1963 hamlet. Like a campfire tale, the brisk novel embraced Halloween iconography and small-town rot, told with an almost poetic prose and simplicity befitting of a Twilight Zone episode. Director David Slade (30 Days of Night) and screenwriter Michael Gilio (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) adhere to the novel’s essence, unleashing Halloween carnage that upstages the barebones story.
Dark Harvest reveals the ominous origins of its title straightaway with an introduction to the annual Halloween hunt that takes place in a picturesque but cursed rural town. Every Halloween, the legendary Sawtooth Jack rises from the cornfields, where he must fight through a gauntlet of murderous teen boys, all eager to snuff him out lest he make his way to the town’s church by midnight. It’s kill or be killed, with the town awarding a hefty prize to the boy who takes out Sawtooth Jack to ensure the town’s survival.
One year later, Richie (Casey Richie) opts to join the hunt, hoping to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. But Richie and new friend Kelly (Emyri Crutchfield) discover more to this annual tradition than meets the eye, leading to a harrowing night of survival as the pair hope to break the town’s vicious cycle.
Slade and Gilio capture the novel’s essence in simplicity and a heightened sense of reality. The small town setting looks and feels more like a cinematic fantasy; its residents are archetypical caricatures of corrupt Sheriffs, doting parents, emboldened jocks, and put-upon greasers. While it lends a distinct visual style, its fleeting glimpses of rot beneath the surface do little to add depth to this superficial realm. Nor do notable supporting plays like Luke Kirby as Officer Jerry Ricks or Elizabeth Reaser as Richie’s troubled mom. There’s not much for either talented players to sink their teeth into and lend emotional stakes. Jeremy Davies comes close as Richie’s deeply conflicted dad, but he, too, remains bound by the story’s limitations. The lack of character development means most disappear into the setting’s artificial flatness.
While the narrative does little to engender rooting interest or engage audiences, outside of its straightforward hunt, director David Slade makes up for that through satisfying deaths, surprising bursts of gore, rich Halloween atmosphere, and an inspired creature design for Sawtooth Jack. The VFX can be noticeable, but close-ups of the creature’s face do more to evoke soulful humanity than any human counterpart on screen. To the film’s credit, that’s an intentional means of highlighting the town’s cursed nature and effectively swaying allegiances. Sawtooth Jack earns sympathy, whereas human characters Richie and Kelly cannot.
For better and worse, Dark Harvest plays like a classic Halloween legend in movie form. Like its source material, Slade and Gilio don’t handhold beyond the basic rules of the annual hunt. Its narrative reveals won’t surprise anyone, and its stock characters ensure the events are mostly forgettable. But it’s proficiently crafted and does enough right by the gore, Halloween setting, and monster that Dark Harvest makes for a serviceable watch this spooky season. It may not make for requisite annual viewing, but its fearless commitment to slaughtering teens against a cozy Fall backdrop at least makes for a fun enough watch as you carve up jack-o’-lanterns.
Dark Harvest releases in theaters one night only at Alamo Drafthouse Theaters on October 11, before heading to Digital on October 13.
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