Review: Strange Harvest

Detectives hunt a Zodiac-like killer as he embarks on a decades-long spree that begins to border on the supernatural. We witness the aftermath of the killings and hear the testimonies of those who lived through them.

Stuart Ortiz has been a name to watch in horror since the excellent sanatorium-set spook tale Grave Encounters, which he co-wrote and directed with Colin Minihan (together known as The Vicious Brothers). 

A fun mix of found footage and haunted investigation parody, Grave Encounters and its sequel have earned a well-deserved cult following. The pair continued collaborating, with Minihan later solo-directing the minimalist zombie horror It Stains The Sands Red in 2017. 

Strange Harvest marks Ortiz’s first solo project, and it’s a nicely chilling treat for true-crime junkies.

Opting for a faux documentary instead of a traditional narrative, Ortiz lays a complex puzzle before us. As the grisly events unfold, it’s easy to get drawn in as if you were watching the latest sensationalist Netflix crime series.

Things grow increasingly uncomfortable when the enigmatic killer, Mr. Shiny, becomes more elaborate and cruel with his methods. The murders themselves feel like a cross between Se7en and Saw, laced with eerie elements that reach beyond typical homicide. 

One victim is found floating in a swimming pool filled with leeches, while another is blood eagled in a playground, imagery that evokes The Silence of the Lambs. Obvious influences aside, Ortiz does carve his own path here, ratcheting the atmosphere and creating some unique scares. 

The earnest performances of Peter Zizzo and Teri Apple help ground the procedural side of the story, adding weight to the grim archival footage. It’s all handled with a straight face, often edging into dark comedy before another brutal death drags you back into the shadows.

The main criticism of Strange Harvest is that some of Ortiz’s most unsettling moments are tainted by an overblown musical score and a few too many talking-heads weaved in. Still, those melodramatic touches fit the true-crime documentary style the film is parodying. 

The mix of visceral horror and voyeuristic documentary flair proves highly effective, making the film a disturbing and oddly compelling experience.

When the case is closed, we are left with more questions than answers, maybe this isn't the last we've seen of Mr. Shiny?