True-crime programs on TV wish they could be this good.
Like
Grave Encounters (2011) before it, Strange Harvest dissects a type of TV program and creates an imitation even better than the original. This is
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as an episode of
Forensic Files (1996), a sinister episode of
Law & Order (1990) taken to its horrific logical extreme.
I saw Strange Harvest at the Nevermore Film Festival. It's a simple, low budget portrayal of a straightforward premise (at least until the end), yet masterfully executed.
Peter Zizzo and
Terri Apple are quite believable as average suburban police detectives pursuing what they uncover to be an extraordinary crime spree. By telling the story in chronological order, the audience knows what the detectives knew at the time and share their confusion in trying to make sense of the crimes, the lack of evidence, and their frustration in trying to identify the perpetrator and track him down because he disappears like a ghost. Each crime is different, and one in particular in a swimming pool is as diabolical as the traps in the
Saw (2004) movies.
The Blair Witch Project (1999), the mother of all found footage films, used its documentary film style to seem totally real. Strange Harvest creates a similar fake reality that makes the audience feel like they're learning about an incident that really happened. The story's simplicity and its streamlined portrayal make it all the more convincing. I've watched a lot of big budget horror movies that aren't nearly as compelling as Strange Harvest.
There's an extra scene after the credits, be sure to stay for that.
