The Double Feature: The Ward and The Harvest

It’s almost becoming a tradition…

The Saturday Night Double Feature.

Sometimes you nail it…And it’s two great movies.

Sometimes you almost nail it…And one of the movies is great.

Sometimes you don’t nail it at all…And you’ve lost four hours of your life.

 

The Ward (2010) – As a self proclaimed John Carpenter super-fan, there is no excuse for why I waited so long to see this movie…Perhaps I was waiting because after a hiatus that has lasted six years and counting, I was afraid this might have been his last effort…If this sadly is the final entry into the epic Carpenter Canon…Well then, at least it was another worthwhile addition to the list. Amber Heard (All The Boys Love Mandy Lane), plays Kristen, a girl whose mysterious past slowly unfolds while institutionalized in a place that holds unfolding mysteries of it’s own. In this psychiatric hospital, both the natural and the supernatural forces at work will fill the viewer with a palpable tension and a potent sense of dread. Top-notch performances from not only Kristen’s fellow patients, but the menacing Cuckoo’s Nest style staff as well. Carpenter’s visuals are here in full effect…But I must admit…I missed him as the composer…Nothing really wrong with the score here, just that it wasn’t Carpenter.

I dig this movie…I just really dig where it took me, you know?

 

The Harvest (2013) – Let’s start with the cast on this one…Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, Man of Steel, Boardwalk Empire, etc.), and Samantha Morton (Minority Report, Cosmopolis, etc.) play the parents of a boy who is suffering…Both the viewer, and the boy’s new friend are skeptical in regards to what exactly he’s suffering from…Natasha Calis, who was amazing in The Possession, plays Maryann, the only friend this frail and sickly boy has ever had. She drives this story with her Scully-like skepticism, and her fearless tenacity. This movie is a straight-up slow burn…Now, don’t misunderstand me, this film was by no means slow…What I mean is that it took the necessary time it needed to slowly draw the blinds…Let us peek in, just a little…Revealing the story to us in an incredibly compelling fashion.

 

Both films were well-crafted, had strong, female leads driving their interesting and compelling stories into places that are no longer unknown to me…

 

Final Score…

 

Nailed it.