SAVAGE HARVEST

Produced by Eric Stanze and DJ Vivona
Written, Edited, Photographed, and Directed by Eric Stanze

Mikki -Lisa Morrison
Karen - Romona Midgett
Mark - William Clifton
Nathan - DJ Vivona

SAVAGE HARVEST marks a noticeable turning point for director Eric Stanze. With his earlier efforts THE FINE ART and THE SCARE GAME, Stanze proved he possessed a good, clean eye for coverage and composition comparable to the best PBS documentarians, and that same visual style dominates SAVAGE HARVEST. Astute viewers will notice that in addition to Stanze's signature coverage style, themes and ideas the director would later explore in his follow-up film, ICE FROM THE SUN start to sprout. If ever there were a signpost marking the emergence of the underground filmmaker from within, SAVAGE HARVEST clearly illustrates the awakening of the dynamo deep inside Stanze.

If only he had marked that emergence with a better movie…

There are many critics who consider Stanze to be the leader in a current wave of underground talent, and it's easy to see why. On meager budgets he's been able to film epic tales about the creation and destruction of the universe. He's brought the darkest elements of the human soul into an unflinching limelight and asked the viewers to evaluated themselves before passing judgment on anything they've been witness to. The cerebral motivation for his characters has always come before the physical action of the stories being told.

None of that can be said about SAVAGE HARVEST.

Originally, SAVAGE HARVEST had been combined with a shortened version of THE SCARE GAME for domestic release under Tempe Video. Recently extended for release under Sub Rosa Studios (formerly Salt City Home Video), SAVAGE HARVEST combines American Indian folklore with extreme horror. Demons are unleashed upon a group of tweenty-somethings out on a weekend getaway. One by one the group is either devoured outright in some truly disgusting depictions of death and dismemberment, or they are possessed by one the demons and take on the creatures' corresponding animalistic attributes.

With such an interesting premise, how can you go wrong?

The problem lies in Stanze's then immature writing style. As in THE SCARE GAME, Stanze relies heavily on his characters regurgitating the backstory regarding both the plot and themselves. Characters discuss each other's past with little or no follow-though later in the story. Mention of occurrences such as a character's prior infidelity should be used as either plot devices or red herrings. There has to be some reason such issues are brought to light other than to simply give a character some sort of past. In order for complexity to be conveyed to the audience it must be shown and not stated.

I also have to take issue with the start of the second act. Once the groundwork is laid for the appearance of the Indian demons there is no build up to their arrival. Suddenly, without warning, our characters are battling these monsters to stay alive. The abrupt change in tone feels as if 2 or 3 scenes are missing. Perhaps a disorienting effect is something Stanze was going for, or perhaps he realized the original release was going to be much shorter than planned and decided not to shoot any connecting sequences.

All my nit-picking aside, there are elements that I'm sure will appeal to everyday, average gorehound. Slick production values highlight this micro-budget effort. Stanze has never been one to let budget restrict the polish of his work. Once the rushed second have begins, the breakneck pace is an avalanche of gore. Stanze has never been one to skip on what truly sells his tapes. It's a sad thing to say, but the majority of fans of the micro-budget arena are only looking for two things, boobs and blood. At least with SAVAGE HARVEST they get one of those. If they want to see both then they'll have to catch Stanze's more recent, and much better, work.

Wicked Pixel Cinema
Sub Rosa Studios

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