Harpoon (2019) Poster

(2019)

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6/10
Surprisingly Entertaining
SupremeMovieKing16 May 2020
This movie isn't winning any Oscars, but if you're a fan of the genre, you should enjoy this movie. 3 main characters were well written / acted. Nothing mind blowing but solid all the way through with enough kinks and character reveals to keep you interested. Not at the top of the list for this genre but refreshingly original and definitely worth a watch.
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6/10
Not Bad for a Low-Budget Indie Thriller
CronenbergsMonster26 May 2020
Harpoon is a solid thriller that comes with all the caveats of a low-budget, indie flick: the acting, writing, and production can all be a little spotty. There are also some tonal issues with the film as it veers wildly between comedy and gross-out horror scene to scene. Despite these issues, I felt that the film had some really compelling ideas and some fun moments in it. Its also worth mentioning that, as a horror movie buff, It's rare that a film makes me feel unsettled, but there were actually a couple of really gross, dark scenes in this film that got under my skin a little. All-in-all a solid indie thriller/drama that's worth a viewing. I think the director has a lot of potential!
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5/10
Implausible plot but good tension
grantss10 October 2021
Three friends - Jonah, Richard and Sasha - go for a cruise on a yacht. Richard and Sasha are in a relationship but Sasha recently cheated on Richard with Jonah...and Richard knows. The friendship is under pressure, making for a tense journey.

This had the look of a B-grade horror/thriller film but it turns out to be slightly better than that. Decent production values and performances lift it above that notch.

However, the plot is a bit implausible: why would anyone agree to go on a cruise with someone who just beat you up and almost killed you after they found out you were sleeping with their girlfriend? Once the fireworks start things get even more perplexing, with many instances of where the whole thing should have ended. But that wouldn't make for a very long movie, so a different plot path is contrived.

This all said, the film is quite intriguing and tension-filled. Ignore some of the silly contrivances and it's reasonably interesting.
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6/10
Tomatometer is way off.
PeteB12321 June 2020
Rotten Tomato gives it a 96%. What the hell is that all about? That score is Godfather, Alien, Wizard of Oz, Psycho territory. Maybe Harpoon is a 6 star. But it is quite forgettable because we unknowingly started watching it a second time and half way through it the light bulb went off.
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7/10
Dark twisted comedy
HairyMart123 August 2019
Three "friends" each with secrets they would prefer the others not to know, one weekend at sea on a pleasure boat, oh and a harpoon no SpearGun ... what can go wrong. Well so much that you would not believe, all delivered with impeccable timing, huge amounts of black humour, a fair bit of blood and a very witty narration. A wonderfully dark and twisted comedy.
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7/10
Amusing & Well Made Offbeat Horror Comedy
TwistedContent8 October 2019
Went in blind as a bat, didn't read the synopsis or even know the fact that it's a comedy. Much to my satisfaction, "Harpoon" turned out to be a neat, smart, pleasantly weird black (horror) comedy.

Lies, schemes, friendships, pride, betrayal and more is explored in "Harpoon", the Director Rob Grant has managed to pack a lot in 82 minutes and one yacht - the result is a constantly entertaining low-budget indie horror with lots of pitch black comedy undertones. Much respect to the trio of actors without whose considerably great performances the movie would be a lesser experience, solid work. A nice & comicly fitting addition was the occasional narrator (voiced by Bret Gelman, Murray from "Stranger Things"), I'd be obliged to give style points for this and more. Even though I'd like to call "Harpoon" a black comedy / thriller, the horror excelled in regards of the well done gore, not excessive amounts of it, but all practical and effective. Aesthetically, the movie is thought-through and utilizes creative camera work and editing.

"Harpoon" packs a few surprises & maybe not a very memorable or thought-provoking, but certainly witty and entertaining story, as well as strong performances and offbeat black comedy vibes. Given the space and resources the filmmakers had to work with, it's an admirable indie horror comedy flick. My rating: 7/10.
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6/10
I thot this was a remake of Harpoon: The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre.
Fella_shibby11 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this without watching the trailer or reading anything bah it.

The first disappointment is that it is not the remake of the above mentioned slasher.

Second disappointment is that there is lots of chit chat along with an extra chit chat of the narrator.

How can u trust n sit close to a person with a piece of lethal glass who tried to kill u n that too after playing a game of straws for survival.

Generous with 6 for the ending n the punishment the characters get for cheating.
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5/10
Let's go fishing
danielcereto15 November 2019
First, this is not an original movie, you have seen this story a hundred times. Second, there are only three actors and a boat, do not expect more. Last, the script is acceptable but not good, not much suspense or twists. So, overall an OK movie but not great. A better ending could have improve everything.
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7/10
Really Good Dark Comedy
frankie1426224 March 2020
Some people should stop expecting every movie to be Oscar material. Grab your significant other, popcorn, drinks, kick back and enjoy. Movie is fun, funny and dark.
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4/10
Nothing you have not seen before
drifter_7419 January 2020
Spoilt rich guy, his girlfriend and his best buddy go on a day long fishing trip to test out his new speargun (harpoon) that the two jointly bought him for his birthday.

As these things go, the close confines and interpersonal relationship strains all lead to tempers boiling over.

Note, this is definitely not a horror movie but simply a drama at sea with a bit more violence and blood thrown in than the usual.

I only watched half way and fast forwarded through the rest.

Yawn.
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8/10
yeeeeez!
katastrofkatt8 October 2019
I didn't have big expectations, but i absolutely loved it. awesome acting skills and wonderfully dark humor. i'm still smiling thinking about it. right up my alley <3
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Thrillers. The genre that denies humans the right to act like humans.
fedor86 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Absurdist violent thriller drama that veers into comedy occasionally - but then hops right back to ultra-violence and the increasingly tiresome love-triangle nonsense. Psychologically unrealistic and physically impossible, the film treats its audience like teenage airheads, expecting to get away with quite a bit of silliness. And I presume it does get away with it all - among airhead teens at least.

Psychologically unsound. People who've had no food and water for 5 days would barely be talking, might actually be dead or dying or at least barely functioning (i.e. lying in their bunks barely moving, looking like zombies); they certainly wouldn't be arguing with such vigor, as if they'd only missed brunch. The fact that they'd argue about their past relationship issues - after a whole week of starvation and survival anxiety - is beyond ridiculous. Three days is pretty much it regarding survival sans water, and the three of them had one glass of water to share - for 5 days. You do the math: they should have been dead or dying by day 3, let alone day 5 - or later.

Making the "sensitive guy" the killer of the pregnant ex just seems forced, like a convenient and forced plot-twist to fill up the increasingly dreary proceedings in the last third. It doesn't wash. I don't buy it. It's like those dumb whodunits that want us to believe the killer is a wheelchair-bound 90 year-old nun. I don't believe in "dumb but fun twists" that are used at the expense of logic, at the cost of dumbing-down the story considerably. Some people do though: these people are fans of thrillers, the most idiotic genre of them all. If you're one of these people, ignore my opinions completely and enjoy the film. (No, wait, I gave you most of the spoilers here...)

Besides, if Blondie knew all along that his friend killed his ex - and he seemed to have known his motive too - then Blondie must have known from way earlier that his friend has a crush on his current girlfriend. I admit there's some grey area here, i.e. the logic barrier isn't completely shattered, but it's a dubious plot-twist that may contradict the very basis of the movie, which is that Blondie only found out a day earlier about their affair.

As is typical with thrillers, the plot-devices and twists just get progressively worse. An example is the sabotage of the boat perpetrated by the killer, just so he could kill Blondie. Just so absurd... He could have killed him without having to go to such - mildly put - extreme lengths. For one thing, he was seriously injured. (But I guess a harpoon piercing the entire hand is not considered a serious injury by this lazy writer-director - who probably never in his life had more than a toothache hence doesn't have the remotest concept of pain and suffering.) Secondly, his idiotic plan involved starving his love-interest, the girl, and himself. For an entire week, not even just a day or two - which might have been a workable plan. That he would so very seriously endanger both of their lives just to achieve something that can be achieved much easier (i.e. killing his buddy/rival) is beyond far-fetched. It is asinine. I wouldn't even trust a mental patient from the insanest loony bin to make such poor decisions. This is what is known as "forcing the plot at all cost": the director wanted an excuse to have the trio stranded at sea, and he wanted to have his silly thrilleric plot-twists, come what may.

Physically impossible situations. Right at the outset killer-boy gets his face and head smashed and pummeled like a tomato by Blondie, gets punched viciously at least ten times. The sort of unbridled attack that usually ends with death, or at best with severe injuries and sometimes permanent invalidity. But that's in REAL life: this is THRILLER life. He doesn't even lose any teeth! Are his dentures and jaw made of titanium steel?! Nothing's broken or fractured; not the teeth, not the jaw, not the nose, not the cheek-bones, nothing. The three simply proceed to go on a boat trip as if he'd just received a light slap in the face. Hospital treatment? Nah... Why get him medical help when the laws of physics and biology don't apply to him?

Nor do they apply to Blondie. Baby-face "tough jock" gets his head smashed with heavy objects TWICE in the space of a day, and yet has he got even a minor concussion? Nah... He's fine. Is he bleeding profusely at least? Nah, these people only have blood when it suits the director and his silly plot. When it doesn't suit him they are bloodless. Are 5 days devoid of water and food enough to completely destroy the bodies of three people? Nah... they're fine. These are THRILLER people, not real ones. Thrillers are more fictional than space operas. They don't HAVE to be this way, but thrillers have regressed and devolved to that level in recent decades.

And what happened with the narration? That narrator was eager to speak in the first half, but as the movie went on he must have... dozed off or something. This on-and-off narration seems very... off.

This writer-director took an old shtick - three people stuck on a boat - and repeated all the worst clichés. He must have thought he was making a very clever, original film. He wasn't. He didn't.

The silliness ends with the girl falling off the boat in a rather ludicrous Bugs-Bunny/Roadrunner way. Her reaction? The F word, uttered in a sort of sitcom-ish "Friends" way, as if she were one of the 6 buffoons on that awful TV show. An appropriately stupid ending to a fairly moronic movie.

Thrillers. The genre that denies humans the right to act like humans. Even superhero flicks are more realistic...
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6/10
Three actors, one boat & one location=a truly great caught off guard cult classic.
LordCommandar27 October 2019
I have to admit, this one really caught me off guard. I don't know these actors from a can of film paint, and I wasn't sure of the story based on the trailer and how well the film would hold my interest. But boy oh boy, this was truly a nice little gore surprise. Three actors, one boat, and one location, met my expectations and then some. You know when a film is good, the script with great performances hold your attention and nothing else is needed. I like it when I'm caught off guard like that. A definite recommend to those who like dark comedy, a little gore and simple dialogue. You will not be disappointed. This will surely make the cult classic list.
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2/10
amazed at the high ratings on here
redrain-340779 February 2020
A real struggle to get to the end . ridiculous is one word that comes to mind . plot is very thin and so much of the actions just dont make sense . waste of time
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the 7-10 star reviews and ratings are all fake
random-707789 November 2019
This film is horrible in every way. idiotic plot, stupidly bad script/dialogue, definitive "keep your day job" acting. And the positive reviews are all new single use accounts. hmmm... There is more creative effort in all these fake reviews than in the film itself!
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6/10
Too much blood
jasonpauljones-6469019 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The acting is excellent in this movie, the three protagonists bounce off each other effortlessly, however this is definitely not a horror film, more a suspense drama which is ok but the blood drinking was difficult for me to watch, and it has to be mentioned that the dude who owned the boat didn't think to look at the motor to find and fix the problem when it wouldn't start, for if he had he would have known it had been sabotaged, but overall this is a chillingly effective movie which is all the more impressive because of the limited space to work in.
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7/10
Great writing and editing
TheThingFromBeyond20 April 2020
Real unique writing imo, contrary to many reviews written. Some drastic mood changes assisted by top notch editing, people just dont know good movies unless their constantly fast paced. The narrator was unnecessary but besides that amazing.
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7/10
Not Bad
Foutainoflife22 November 2019
Three friends, some tangled history, a boat and open water. Talk about horror.

I was pleased with this. There is enough drama to keep you interested, enough comedy to keep it lite enough to make it relatable, enough blood to consider it horror and a nice pace putting it all together. I'm not always impressed with horror comedy because it can become so cheesy but this was just right.

If you are looking for a decent watch for your night in, this is a great choice.
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7/10
Try it
lcherresse6 April 2020
I actually liked it more than I thought I would. I went in with no expectations. It kept me interested and I liked the twist.
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1/10
Penknife in the Water
Doctor-of-Nothing11 October 2019
Prep school attempt at refashioning the Polanski film. A modicum of style but absolutely no substance. Repellent characters, schoolyard dialogue, idiotic decisions.

Not funny. Not tense. Not worth the time.
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7/10
Fun and sun at sea
killercharm22 February 2022
But, not so fun as it turns out. Three people who make up their own clique go out for a day at sea and mayhem ensues. The clique is made up of a couple and the best friend. The best friend is kind of like a best friend to both the sweethearts in the couple, which means that of course he is "secretly" in love with the girl. We have the rich owner of the boat who has no self-control, especially over his temper, the girlfriend who is a nurse, which comes in handy what with all the hangovers and fights, and finally the best friend who just lost both his parents and their home. He's the wild-card. They all have secrets and they all express an anger that manages to get them stranded on that boat with no radio, food, water, or means to obtain anything. Enter mayhem.
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1/10
Terrible Movie!
asrichmond7 March 2020
This movie was so awful, I actually had to fast forward through parts of it. Don't waste your time.
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8/10
Delightfully dark
cee_dill4 September 2019
Pitch black comedy with a very capable cast attached and perfect narration to help with scene breaks and transitions. I was impressed with what a good fit each actor was for their character and what good use the filmmakers made with their small set. I spent the run time laughing and grimacing but without ever losing the feeling of dread attached to their situation.
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6/10
An amusingly violent dark comedy that works in parts! [+61%]
arungeorge1327 October 2020
Harpoon is a limited-setting psychological thriller that depends majorly on two things: the performances of its perfectly grey-shaded leads and their expositional reveals. When three none-too-loyal friends (played by Emily Tyra, Christopher M Gray, and Munro Chambers) spend an afternoon on a yacht, it turns into an unpredictable life-and-death situation dotted with gory action and perky black humor.

The opening sequence introduces the leads, gives each one a little backstory (some quirky narration from Brett Gelman), and sets the tone pretty straight. When the short-tempered Richard (Gray) believes that his girlfriend Sasha (Tyra) has cheated on him with his best friend (Jonah), he goes into a fit of rage. He bloodies Jonah much to the dismay of Sasha, but when he realizes what he's done (purely out of anger), he tries to make it up to them by taking them on a yacht ride out into the middle of the ocean.

This is where the proceedings get interesting. We get more than one well-packaged twist, with writer-director Rob Grant toying with the idea of how to survive and who eventually will. However, some things did bother me as a viewer. Why would Sasha and Jonah, who clearly know Richard's anger issues, get him a harpoon as a birthday gift? Neither was I convinced about Jonah and Sasha quickly tagging along with Richard aboard the 'Naughty Buoy' yacht right after such an ugly spat.

Rob Grant (supported greatly by Gelman) delightfully sprinkles dark humor where it's required in an otherwise tense, grisly film. It's difficult to like any of the leads, and when the voiceover narrator gleefully acknowledges it, one can't help but chortle. This reduces the overall emotional payoff, and then it becomes all about the twists. It's engaging all the way (the cinematography by Charles Hamilton is solid), but don't expect 'Fargo' or 'A Serious Man' levels of finesse.
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4/10
Expected better than this
khalidabdelaziz-185405 April 2020
Twisting , killer nature of them I didn't like There should be a good man overall
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