NIGHT OF THE HARVEST (2023)

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Directed/Written by Christopher M. Carter, Jessica Morgan.
Starring Aeric Azana, Jessica Morgan, Brittany Isabell, Jim Cirner, Taylor Noelle Falshaw, Ashton Jordann Ruiz, Autumn Gubersky, Michaela Ivey, John Noble, Dustin Rieffer, & Jesse Pickering as the Scarecrow!
Check out the trailer here!!

A year after she survived an attack by the masked slasher the Scarecrow, Madison (Brittany Isabell) and her sister Audrey (Jessica Morgan) are not really up for a big party for Halloween. But their Halloween loving friends still want to party, so they decide to go to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere for a small get-together. Of course, the Scarecrow follows.

NIGHT OF THE HARVEST isn’t a necessarily bad slasher. It basically is trying to do a SCREAM-whodunnit style mystery where one tries to figure out who the killer is among this group of friends and why they are killing people. This involves a rather complex plot and of course, a lot of clunky exposition where the killer is unmasked and the motive is explained. Now, SPOILER WARNING—

There are multiple killers, which requires multiple unmaskings and multiple exposition drops. And with each unmaksing and exposition drop, they become less effective.

END SPOILER.

Unfortunately, this trope isn’t really that exciting or suspenseful, as there are only a few people the killer can be. On top of that, the motivation is rather loopy and doesn’t get any clearer once things are explained as it brings in a mystical angle a little too late in the game. Sure, it is a surprise, but since there is no suggestion of the mystical earlier in the film, it kind of feels like it doesn’t belong in this more down to earth, low budgeter.

The acting is actually more solid than one usually gets in this type of film. No one is stellar, but everyone feels confident and competent in their roles, with the two lead sisters (played by Isabell and Morgan) giving the best performances. I also really liked the comical and likable personality of Aeric Azana who plays lovable loser William.

I can’t say that the gore is impressive, but there is a lot of blood shed in this one. While the opening kills are both done off screen, as are some of the first kills, things get bloodier and more in your face towards the climax. This goes against the common trend in low fi horror films that front load the films with all of the good effects and sometimes run out of money by the end, wrapping up the film with more lackluster effects. That doesn’t happen here though. They saved the red stuff for the end.

In the end, NIGHT OF THE HARVEST proved to be a harmless, but forgettable Halloween themed slasher. It’s capably made and acted, but I feel the similarities between this one and the SCREAM series, especially the latter sequels of that series, are just too abundant to be anything but feel like a knock-off with a lower budget and no-name stars. The best I can say about it is that I’m not mad that I watched it and that it’s an ok time waster of a film that aimed a bit too high with its concept and failed to reach it.