VOD Review: The Harvest (2015)

(aka Sick Things.)
Release Date: April 10th.
Country: USA.
Rating: NR.
Written by: Stephen Lancellotti.
Directed by: John McNaughton.
Starring: Samantha Morton, Michael Shannon, Charlie Tahan, and Natasha Calis.

Back in 1986, director John McNaughton burst onto the scene with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, which is to this day one of the most disturbing movies that we've ever seen. Throughout the years, he gave us a few other gems like Mad Dog and Glory, and Wild Things, but then out of nowhere he stopped making feature films altogether in 2001.

14 years later, he returns to the director's chair with The Harvest; a creepy, performance-driven project that overall, was a solid effort. Not a true return to form for the man, mind you, but still a solid effort.

The Harvest is going to be a hard movie to talk about without spoiling it, so we're going to keep things as vague as possible.

The Harvest is the story of Andy; a very sick little boy whose overprotective parents keep him locked away inside of the house, presumably for fear of him getting sicker or hurting himself. Mom is a doctor who treats his illness herself at home, and Dad is kind of a milquetoast who does whatever Mom tells him to, because she is scary.

YEAH GUYS, SHE'S PRETTY MUCH THE PROBLEM.

Mom strictly forbids Andy to go outside or to have visitors, because she's a control freak, so when the young Maryanne moves in next door, she's none to pleased to learn that the girl has been to the house, and that she and Andy are becoming fast friends.

THAT LOOK JUST SCREAMS "NO WIRE HANGERS!" TO US.

From here on out, we learn more about Andy and his condition, watch his Mother slowly unravel, and watch his Dad try to hold everything together... all while the meddling little girl from next door ruins everything. Dysfunction ensues.

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR SNOOPING!

Though not as good as McNaughton's previous work, The Harvest is a solid little Thriller that does a lot of things right. In all honesty, it feels a bit like an original movie that you'd see on Lifetime, but it wasn't quite as bland or schmaltzy as that. It plays like a psychological Thriller that has a tiny tinge of backwoods Horror thrown in for good measure, and it remains a fairly engaging effort throughout.

Though the big "twist" comes about halfway in, it becomes fairly clear what's actually going on well before that. It's a pretty simple set-up, but it is a fairly disturbing one, and it at least offers up some intense situations to offset its simplicity.

SHE FIGURED IT OUT, AND NO ONE BELIEVED HER...

Don't worry if you do manage to figure out the movie's twist, because it's the performances of Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon that make it worth watching anyhow. In The Harvest, both actors play against the type that we're used to seeing from them. Morton is the unsettling and explosive one here, with her character bordering on unstable most of the time, where Shannon (the one who usually plays someone whose rage is just boiling beneath the surface, and eventually explodes), gets the the quieter and more subdued role of the two. He's still all kinds of intense, but he evoked far more emotion and sympathy from us than he did fear. No matter their roles though, they were both great in this movie.

The kids were solid in this one too. Charlie Tahan makes for a convincing victim, and Natasha Calis is a tenacious little heroine. They're both definitely stars on the rise.

NOBODY DOES CREEPY AND INTENSE BETTER THAN THIS GUY.

On the negative side of things, some of the characters in The Harvest were a bit thin for our liking. Peter Fonda was all but wasted in this one, with his Grandfather character existing as nothing but a foil of sorts for Maryanne, and to dispense one silly little bit of advice towards the end that I guess was supposed to urge her into action, or something. At least we got to hear him say "Far out, man." I guess that was something.

The ending was a bit of a letdown too, as it came on too quickly, and felt rather anticlimactic. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but it was certainly something more harrowing and threatening than what we got. And the epilogue just felt like a quick scene that was filmed as an afterthought, and it left us with that sucky "That's it?" feeling.

THEY COULD HAVE MADE PETER FONDA'S CHARACTER A DOG, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME THING.

Home schooling your kid is one thing, but medically treating them at home is something else altogether. Also, Michael Shannon is absolutely one of the best actors that we've got.

GRAVITAS.

Although it's great to see him back to making movies again, The Harvest isn't a return to form for John McNaughton on the level of "Henry" or "Wild Things." It's satisfying in its own way, and it's worth watching alone for its performances, we were just hoping for something a bit more biting, I suppose.

Still, if your a fan of anyone who is involved, it's well worth a rental.

B

The Harvest is available now on VOD.

Samantha Morton creeped us out in this one, so we are not going to call her hot! Attractive is all that she gets this time.