Savage Harvest 2? I had no clue there was a Savage Harvest 1! Seriously though folks in a word of independent horror and digital video it’s no wonder a film like Savage Harvest 2 can be made and released on DVD by a distributor like Elite. My thing is this though; am I the only person out there that did not like this film, because it seems every review I’ve read has been positive. Screw me, but did I get the wrong movie?
Now don’t get me wrong; Savage Harvest 2 does have a lot of positive things about it. But for me it comes to a matter of personal taste in the film makers execution of their production. This is a very low budget horror film, shot on DV with a Sony DCR-VX1000. Now I’m not sure when the production took place, but if the film was in fact filmed in 2006 like it says on IMDB, then I think as a company Wicked Pixels Cinema need to upgrade to 24p or HD status to keep up with the growing quality in video production. I like film none the less, and DV has always bothered me. So right off the bat, yes this film is shot on Digital video, flat look and all.
The films overall production value is a large problem. The film didn’t have any thing great when it came to sets and visuals. The movie was mainly shot inside a house and on a farm. The lighting could of been a bit better to fit the mood of the scenes that involved the ghouls. The film was over lit per say, and the scare factor of the film went no where. Sure there is plenty of gore and violence, but the mood is not set for suspense, and the filmmakers opted for gore instead. Speaking of make-up effects, Don’t expect anything great, well don’t expect anything that looks real or believable. The make-up effects look really bad and cheesy. You can tell the majority of it was Halloween make-up. My guess is that the filmmakers were going for the B-movie look, which is pretty much what this film is. But don’t expect believable effects, because you don’t get them in this film. But, Yes! There is plenty of gore and death to go around.
Where the film fails in it’s lack of great production value, it makes up for in the fact that the filmmakers obviously have experience behind the camera. They know how to make due with what they have. Director Jason Christ has a pretty good eye for the camera and his use of shots and filming technique is very good. The editing is a bit choppy, but nothing that can’t be easily overlooked.
The script for the film is up and down. For the first half of the film, there is nothing but long drawn out scenes full of story and character development. The film pretty much lost me within the first fifteen minutes, and I just stopped caring about the movie right there and them. I could not relate to the characters and the story was not made clear as to what was going on. Granted I never saw the first film, but I’m not sure there are many who haven’t seen it as well. The second half of the film however is where the movie picked up and all the horror and gore came in, but the feeling of “where has the horror been” still sticks with you.
The acting in the movie is actually not that bad. The film’s script did offer some decent dialogue for the actors to use, which I think helped the majority of the performances. The film lead actors are the ones who deserve most of the credit, and they did a decent job for a group of unknowns. I can’t say that when members of the cast turned into ghouls that they were good, but that’s to be expected in a low budget flick.
Overall and in all seriousness a film like Savage Harvest 2 is not my kind of movie. I’ve never been a big fan of ultra low budget b-movie horror films such as this one, and it’s very rare that I come across one that I like. I almost feel it’s unfair for me to review such films. However if I were to fill the shoes of a fan of direct to video/B horror films, I would have to say based on the script that this was just a mediocre film. There nothing special here with Dark Harvest really, but you will be able to see some inspirational shots of the likes of Evil Dead, & Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Still though, those films are so far superior to this one.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
