Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 23, 2022

1994’s “Savage Harvest” is a shot-on-video feature from writer/director Eric Stanze, who works to bring his love of horror cinema to the screen with his own take on a demonic uprising story. The picture was shot in rural Missouri with an amateur cast, with Stanze trying to make the most of a difficult situation, straining to make his own “Evil Dead” without help from production polish and talented actors. The helmer eventually delivers bloodshed and physical threats, but “Savage Harvest” takes a long time to get to the good stuff, finding Stanze way too committed to the negligible details of his story, hammering the endeavor with eternal stretches of exposition before he finally unleashes his version of hell.

“Savage Harvest” offers routine, sending a collection of young people into the woods, where they discover evidence of an ancient evil. What’s different here is the use of Native American tragedy to fuel the threat, which involves the wrath of the evil spirit Retlawkoob and the cursed rocks left behind. Unfortunately, Stanze takes the long road to terror, preferring bone-dry explanations of history and folklore to develop demonic happenings, with a good chunk of the 71-minute-long movie devoted to banal dialogue and tedious character backstory. Stanze waits to bring out monsters, which isn’t a wise choice for this no-budget endeavor, keeping things punishingly slow before the production finally gets around to making a bloody mess of things.

Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.29:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Savage Harvest" registers as expected for a shot-on-video production. Detail goes about as far as it can with this type of equipment, offering a basic view of screen elements, which are tested as the action heads into nighttime demonic rampaging. Gore zone visits are acceptable. Colors are muted but appreciable, with passable greenery and red blood.

Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 Dolby Digital mix isn't powerful, delivering a simple understanding of dialogue exchanges from amateur actors. Music cues are equally basic, without distinct instrumentation. Sound effects are blunt.

Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features writer/director Eric Stanze and producer D.J. Vivona.

• Commentary #2 features actresses Ramona Midgett and Rebecca Kennebeck, and associate producer Jessica Wyman.

• "A Quarter Century Since the Harvest" (39:37, HD) is a 2021 visit to VHS-Fest, which takes place at The Mahoning Drive- In in Pennsylvania. Director Eric Stanze was invited to participate in the event, and he offers a video journey of his experience, which was threatened by a massive thunderstorm. Stanze talks about the evolution of "Savage Harvest," which involved initial "anger" at the movie when it didn't come out as strong as he hoped. Fan appraisal is also explored, along with the development of VHS culture and shot-on-video creativity.

• Still Gallery (5:57) collects BTS snaps from the "Savage Harvest" shoot.

• "Hell or High Water" (50:48, SD) is the 1994 making-of for "Savage Harvest," featuring extensive BTS footage and interviews with production participants.

• Music Videos (SD) include "Junior College Philosophy" (5:39) by The Finns, "Slugs Are in My House" (4:35) by Ded Bugs, and "Standing" (4:18), "I Lost My Innocence to the Industrial Age" (4:10), and "Put Your Feet in the Wedding Cake" (3:56) by Hotel Faux Pas.

• And Trailer A (1:52, SD) and Trailer B (2:24, SD) are included.

Savage Harvest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Savage Harvest" improves in its second half, presenting decent makeup effects and gory events as the evil is released, tearing through the collection of characters. Stanze is more inspired with the second half of the picture, trying to jazz up the movie with wild camera moves and remote forest action, paying tribute to Sam Raimi and assorted genre offerings that originally lit his fuse as a filmmaker. "Savage Harvest" strives to give its audience a proper ride of nasty business, and while Stanze strains to showcase himself as a horror helmer of worth in the world of SOV cinema, he doesn't connect in full here, too caught up trying to explain everything instead of letting loose with a proper fright film.