Starring: Lance Henriksen, Matt Winston, Camille Balsamo, Reid Collums, Milla Bjorn
Studios: Amalgated Dynamics, Dark Dunes Productions
Relase Dates: August 7, 2015
Plot: A group of grad students have booked passage on the fishing trawler Harbinger to study the effects of global warming on a pod of Orcas in the Bering Sea. When the ship's crew dredges up a recently thawed piece of old Soviet space wreckage, things get downright deadly. It seems that the Russians experimented with tardigrades, tiny resilient animals able to withstand the extremes of space radiation. The creatures survived, but not without mutation.
Now the crew is exposed to aggressively mutating organisms. And after being locked in ice for 3 decades, the creatures aren't about to give up the warmth of human companionship. (Courtesy of the original Kickstarter Campaign page)
I first saw a trailer of this film on somewhere on Youtube a few days ago and after reading much about of it, I got interested in actually seeing it. Being a Kickstarter-funded film, I didn't have any expectations about it aside from a typical-monster film that you see on the SyFy channel. But after watching the film itself, I was proven wrong. So here is my Certified Ace review of this little indie monster horror film 'HARBINGER DOWN'.
A Passion Project for the Producers
Based on what I know, Amalgated Dynamics (special effects studio for films like Alien 3, Starship Troopers, Spiderman, Alien Vs. Predator) used to work on the 2011 prequel film The Thing. They were the ones who were supposed to make the creature effects for the "Thing" in the film. But their works ended up being replaced by CGI after post-production. This was really disappointing for them since I know for sure that they really worked hard for those effects (If you've seen the film, you'll notice that it is mostly made up of CGI effects that gives it a weird video game look).
And so they decided to come up with their own movie that will feature their works. And to get the budget they needed, they've started this Kickstarter Campaign to raise the money needed for this film. And from then on, they've made this a passion project. And you can really see it in their work. The creature effects of the film are really good, but we'll get to that part later.
The Thing From... Beneath?
Yup. The film's story itself is too much familiar. Why? Because it's very identical with the story of the cult horror film from John Carpenter, The Thing (1982). Well, we can't blame them for having a very similar premise. I mean, we do get a lot of horror films that are inspired by another horror film. Take Insidious (2010) and story which is very reminiscent of Poltergeist (1982). These movies served as inspirations for other horror movies to show up. We wont have I Spit on your Grave (1978) if there wasn't Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left (1972). I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legends (1998) without Scream (1996). So I really don't want to blame the writer of the film for not coming up with something a little bit original. But still, I have that feeling that this would have been a better monster film if they've had a different, more unique story.
A Special Effects Extravaganza
So back to the film's special FX department... This is probably where the film really stands out. The film is supposed to display the special FX works of Amalgated Dynamics studio. And I must say that I'm really impresssed.
From the first time we get to see tentacle like tubes burst out of a guys back up to the scene where a big creature with a really large pair of gums and teeth shows up in the dark munching on one of their men, the FX are really awesome. You can really see the dedication of the people at Amalgated Dynamics in their efforts in bringing these freaky monsters to life. The practical effects gives the film a retro feel in it which adds up to the nostalgia of watching those 50's monster flicks.
The only problem that I had was with the lighting and the editing. There were scenes that were too dark that I can't even see a single thing out of the monster which was just irritating because you can't appreciate the FX itself. also, the editing was too fast that you sometimes miss a glimpse of the creature effects in just a blink of an eye.
Final Verdict:
Despite all the problems with the lightning and editing, I must say that the film is quite entertaining. And the practical FX courtesy by Amalgated Dynamics really gave the movie a punch. This is definitely must-see for monster movies afficionados.
I am rating this 4 out of 5 stars.
Harbinger Down - Trailer by dreadcentral
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