This review was made possible by an advance screener of Night Of The Harvest. Night Of The Harvest releases on digital platforms on Tuesday, September 24th.

I have always been a big slasher fan, ever since I was watching those types of movies at way too young of an age. The Jasons and Michaels and Freddys of the cinematic landscape have always had a sway over me. As I have gotten older, none of that has changed. I still love slasher flicks, be they modern or from a bygone era. But that’s kind of a problem, right? That “bygone era” is forty-plus years ago! How do you keep this genre feeling fresh? 

Night Of The Harvest is a 2024 entry into slasher lore. Unlike a lot of the slashers of my youth, it is a smaller, independent venture, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have something to say or something to add to the legacy of the genre. 

It tells the tale of two sisters, Audrey (Jessica Morgan) and Madison (Brittany Isabell) in the lead-up to a Halloween party being hosted by a friend of theirs. We aren’t privy to exactly what, but Madison is reeling from a tragedy that befell her one year prior. Elsewhere, Audrey’s boyfriend Dane (Jim Cirner) and his pal William (Aeric Azana) are preparing for the same party. And after 6 months of dating, Dane has determined he is finally ready to tell Audrey he loves her.

As everyone comes together for the night’s events, it becomes apparent there is a scarecrow-masked killer out in the night claiming victims. Will our group of heroes and their friends be able to survive the evening? Well, definitely not all of them will. It would be a really poor slasher if no one died, right?

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ Night Of The Harvest is a movie that seems to have a pretty simple slasher premise: there is a scarecrow-masked killer out killing people on Halloween; can our protagonists survive? At first blush, it’s not something that screams out that it has a lot of depth.

But as you ride along with the story, the film actually has at least two significant twists. The first occurs at the 45 minute mark and direly changes the pace of the movie to that point. You might think that is a bit early for the reveal that we get, but you have to hold on, because there is another twist coming in the third act. 

I appreciate any movie coming at us with some turns and unexpected delights to keep the slasher formula fresh, and that is exactly what Night Of The Harvest does.

+ If you are a blood- or gore-hound, Night Of The Harvest should not disappoint. It’s not wildly brutal or anything, but it’s definitely bloody, and it shows several visceral scenes of people getting stabbed, slashed, and hacked.

There are even some dismembered limbs, if you are into that! The effects aren’t revolutionary or anything, but the flick absolutely goes all out (within its constraints) to show blood on the screen and make you wince in pain along with the characters. It’s decent stuff!

– Some of the acting is better than others. To be fair, the primary actors in the ensemble are fine at what they are doing, but when you get into the secondary characters–the ones who die off first and aren’t around particularly long–they just aren’t quite on the same level. 

Not all actors are created equal; I get that. And the ones that get bigger roles usually get them for a reason. But the smaller roles here are noticeably weaker than their contemporaries.

– On a filmmaking level, there are a few inconsistencies and awkward moments as Night Of The Harvest goes on. Scenes are cut together weirdly so that when the camera switches point of view, characters’ heads or bodies aren’t in the same position in which we just saw them. It’s some minor stuff in the editing, but it’s there, and I was jarred by it.

There are some sound editing flaws, too. In particular, one scene where you can keep hearing cars go by in the background. The noises of the passing vehicles are weirdly inconsistent, and they seem to cut out or start out of nowhere. It’s just another element that distracted me as I tried to watch. 

OVERALL

Night Of The Harvest is maybe not the cleanest movie ever made with some of its more stand-out technical failings or the efforts of its secondary actors, but I give it credit for taking a decades’ old formula and changing it up enough to feel fresh and re-invigorated. Additionally, the scarecrow mask is pretty rad looking! It’s always a benefit to have a memorable killer. 

2.5 Out Of 5