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While Eric Stanze would definitely make better movies than this debut feature from 1994, SAVAGE HARVEST is probably the indie director’s most accessible film in that it is simply a straight out horror film in the tradition of movies like THE EVIL DEAD and NIGHT OF THE DEMONS – two films from which it borrows fairly heavily.
Starting off as many horror movies are apt to begin, we’re introduced to a group of teenagers heading into the woods where they intend to shack up for the weekend at a cabin, just to get away from it all. As the story progresses, the teens (and in turn the audience) learn of a Cherokee Indian who used to roam the area, practicing black magic and who was eventually killed by his own tribe, but not before he was able to infuse some stones with a little bit of his own personal evil.
As luck would have it, a recent flood in the area has unearthed one of those very same stones from its long dormant resting place, and what our intrepid teenage party goers are soon to learn is that if you touch a stone, you’ll become possessed of the ancient evil that haunted the grounds so long ago. Of course, one thing leads to another and before you know it, people are getting possessed left, right and center ...and once that happens, it’s only a matter of time before the demonic hosts are feasting on the innards of the living.
When you think ‘shot on video horror film’ your mind usually conjures up images of amateurish productions filled with horrible acting and really terrible, cheap, Halloween costume effects and masks. Stanze manages to avoid most of those pitfalls with this effort and while there are a couple of moments where the dialogue fails or a particular set piece isn’t perfect, for the most part the movie really benefits from some capable performances and very good make up work.
None of that matters, however, if the pacing is bad or the story doesn’t work ...but thankfully those bases are covered as well. Yes, the plot is derivative and the influences are very obvious here but that doesn’t mean that the movie doesn’t move along at a fairly quick pace or provide a few genuinely atmospheric moments of dread. Once some of the characters become possessed the movie clicks into high gear and the devil-tongued minions of Hell that run rampant in the woods become the real stars of the show. The first twenty or thirty minutes aren’t necessarily movie history in the making but they set up the plot just fine and make way for the carnage to come.
If the movie has one fatal flaw it’s that the ending feels really rushed and in terms of tying up the story, it doesn’t do the best job of wrapping it all up as nicely as it could have. There is a twist and there is a lot of gore and it could have been a lot worse, but on the other hand it also could have been stronger. Also, in terms of the visuals, the lighting is weak in a few spots which results in a rather muddy looking image at times.
That’s the worst of it though – SAVAGE HARVEST is a fun little movie that makes the most of its locations and limited budget. Despite its flaws, it’s definitely entertaining and it also benefits from some inventive camera work.
While this new release from Image looks better than the first release from Sub Rosa, the colors are still pretty flat looking on this transfer ...and because it was shot on video, the detail that you’d get out of a film transfer is lacking here. With that out of the way, everything is definitely watchable and presentation certainly could look a lot worse. For a movie shot on video over a decade ago, SAVAGE HARVEST comes through reasonably well on DVD – you’ve just got to remember how and when this movie was made and keep that in perspective. The video has been cleaned up and it does look better than the previous release through Sub Rosa, but it still looks like an older shot-on-video movie.
The English language Dolby Digital Stereo sound mix is decent enough, though again, you’ve got to take into account the low budget origins of the picture. Dialogue is clean and clear and while there are a few muffled moments here and there, you shouldn’t have any problems following the action as it plays out. This isn’t a fancy mix, but it gets the job done well enough and there are a few instances of keen channel separation. The movie also benefits from a very fitting score that also sounds quite good on this DVD.
Not one, not two, but three commentary tracks are on this new special edition release (from Image Entertainment). The first commentary features director Eric Stanze alongside actor William Clifton. Recorded in May of 2005, this is a pretty in depth look at the making of the movie and the two cover a lot of ground. Jason Christ, who had nothing to do with the film at all, also shows up on this track and Stanze discusses how Christ landed the role of directing the upcoming SAVAGE HARVEST 2 (which was in post production at the time of this recording). Stanze covers the technical side of things while Clifton gives us his recollections on how his experiences were as an actor working with Stanze during what was the early part of his career. Clifton also covers some of the little details about his character and shares some of the reasoning he brought to the part.
The second track features cast members Ramona Midgett, Rebecca Kennebeck, and associate producer Jessica Wyman. This track was also recorded in May of 2005, and it proves to be a lively discussion about all manner of detail-oriented things, from the actresses hair to how young they all look in hindsight. They cover some of the little things that you might not pick up on about their characters, and they all seem to have a good time looking back on the movie as there's a lot of laughing and giggling on this piece. While not as informative as the other tracks on the disc, it's still fun and it does a decent enough job of explaining their part in the making of the movie and detailing how they feel about it now.
The final track was recorded for the original 2002 DVD release of the movie and it features director Eric Stanze and producer DJ Vivona on the microphone. They cover a lot of ground on this talk, discussing some interesting aspects of working under such low budget conditions, how certain effects were achieved, and about shooting on location and some of the difficulties that brings along with it. They also discuss where the inspiration for the movie came from, and it's a pretty interesting story.
If that weren’t enough, there’s also a Making Of SAVAGE HARVEST documentary included here as well. The most interesting aspect of this segment is seeing how some of the special effects were rigged up for the movie, most notably the spider demon guy. There’s some location footage, plenty of behind the scenes bits and pieces, and some clips of the cast and crew in a more candid environment than we see in the feature. A few interviews with the main cast members and a few of the crew members as well are also tucked away in here, and while it won’t change your life, it gives us a pretty decent look at the making of the movie as it was happening, rather than in hindsight (as the commentary tracks do).
Rounding out the extra features are a music video directed by Eric Stanze (for a song called “Put Your Feet In The Wedding Cake” by a band called Hotel Faux Pas), a substantial still gallery, and two trailers for SAVAGE HARVEST as well as previews for other Wicked Pixel releases such as the grueling SCRAPBOOK, the twisted ICE FROM THE SUN, SAVAGE HARVEST TWO: OCTOBER BLOOD (which looks promising, and gory as Hell!), and the upcoming (at least at the time of this writing) DEADWOOD PARK (which also looks quite promising).
Fans of eighties horror ought to really dig Stanze’s throwback. Ample amounts of gore and surprisingly good make up effects make SAVAGE HARVEST a fun horror film and while it isn’t as good as his later work, Stanze’s debut is still pretty impressive, made more so by the supplements on this release.
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