Serial killers are scary enough, but when you tie in the occult and astronomy, you get Strange Harvest, a pseudo-documentary-drama that will frighten the Bejesus out of you.
Strange Harvest is written and directed by Stuart Ortiz and stars Peter Zizzo, Terri Apple, Andy Lauer, and Mattew Peschio. The film is presented in documentary form and follows two detectives over a twenty-year period as they try to hunt down a vicious serial killer known as Mr. Shiny. Inspired by real-life serial killers like Zodiac and David Berkowitz, Stuart Ortiz has really done his homework and given us a quite believable nightmare.
The story begins with Detectives Joe Kirby (Peter Zizzo) and Alexis Taylor (Terri Apple) being notified about the slaughter of the Sherridan Family (mother, father, young child) in 1995. The death is gruesome and immediately recognized as premeditated. The only clue is a strange symbol painted in blood on the ceiling. The detectives, with the help of the F.B.I., try to stop the killer, but the deaths keep mounting up, with each one becoming more bizarre.
Friends and family members of the victims are interviewed in true documentary form, and the crime photos are chillingly real. Then, without warning, the deaths stop. Kirby and Taylor never stop searching for the killer, and in the process learn that the symbol left at the crimes has a connection to an astrological event that is rumoured to happen. When the killings and strange symbols reappear in 2010, our detectives, who have never given up on the case, are finally able to connect a name with the killer.
Conclusion
This is one of the best pseudo-documentaries that I have ever watched. Strange Harvest presented itself like a true crime story worthy of 60 Minutes. The methods of killing used by Mr. Shiny aka Leslie Sykes (Jessee J. Clarkson) is believable, and sadly it’s because we have read much worse in newspapers about real serial killers.
It was genius to have Mr. Shiny commit the killings based on occult phenomena connected to planetary lineups and ancient sites in Jerusalem. Even knowing this was not a true documentary, it was done so well that I had a hard time falling asleep — and that is something special, because I am a horror connoisseur.
You can watch Strange Harvest on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home
