Review of The Harvest

The Harvest is not so much a thriller as a tragedy. Indeed, it seemed to me the filmmaker went out the way to make sure tense moments didn't last too long. In some ways this reminded me of midday TV movies I used to watch whenever I had a day off. Such movies tended to be light on thriller excitement but big on drama and generally relied on great sympathy for one character, whilst much less (or none) for another. Generally such movies would only have one, perhaps two, actors of any renown. Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon are actors that have gone past renown and are basically famous now. I last saw Samantha Morton in a great little horror movie called The Daisy Chain (2008). Both actors here do a great job and cannot be faulted. The script is really good, and most of the story is good too, though slow. There's a 45 minute lead in where nothing much happens, which was way too long. The story wasn't perfect either. Alas, The Harvest is another movie that depicts teenagers as dolts. In particular the girl takes risks that are almost simple minded, leading to moments of extreme tension. They don't last. The filmmaker glosses over the tension after a minute or so by giving her a lot of luck, and the tension is dispelled. For the viewer it's an odd experience. On the one hand you can't believe anyone, let alone a teen, would be that reckless, and in my case it bothered so much I was relieved it resolved quickly and never lead to serious trouble. Or maybe the teens were supposed to be seen as an age younger than they appear? Almost a safe bet for some movies. Certainly in this movie younger kids would have be a better option. Mind you, one sympathises with the teens' plight, another reason this movie needed to get going earlier. The peril that's built up is not nearly as much as could have been achieved. There was a very pretty background tune played early on that impressed me twice, but strangely was never heard again. The Harvest is a strong drama movie, and more a tragedy than a thriller, with excellent actors and good production. It has a horror element, but I wouldn't call it a horror movie.