Film Review – Strange Harvest

“Strange Harvest” is a movie that’s been made to resemble a television show. Writer/director Stuart Ortiz makes an unusual creative choice with the picture, which is meant to resemble an episode of true crime T.V., aiming to transform a study of a serial killer into something slick and formulaic, hoping to entice viewers used to such journeys into darkness that streaming companies tend to favor, bringing real-world horror to an audience that loves the stuff. Despite the appearance of realism, “Strange Harvest” is a fictional study of menace concerning the brutality of a murderer known as Mr. Shiny and his reign of terror across a California town. Ortiz creates a mostly credible study of such evil, using interviews and crime scene media to generate an authentic atmosphere of dread for the endeavor. As a technical exercise, the feature delivers on its invented reality, making for an interesting examination of storytelling. Dramatically, the offering is a bit lacking, as there’s a reason why this kind of programming typically runs under an hour in length. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com