Listen, we’re ten years into Rooster Illusion somehow and I feel like I can be honest with you all. There are precious few things that I truly love anymore. One of those things is Alamo Drafthouse (I know, Tim League is not…great) and the ability to have someone bring me beer and an expensive burger during the movie I’m watching. Someone give me a foam shark hat to watch during a showing of Jaws. Someone give me a box of tissues to watch Serenity. Someone give me a gaudy plastic gemstone ring to wear to watch Renfield. I’m easy to please and I’m bad with money.

So naturally, when they sent me a ‘One Night Only’ email touting a new horror movie from David Slade, my FOMO kicked in pretty hard. But I am super glad that it did, because Dark Harvest is great.

Based on the book ‘Dark Harvest’ (2006) by Norman Partridge and directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night), Dark Harvest is, basically, a “modern” piece of American folklore. I put “modern” in quotes because the book and movie take place in the 60s, but both have a distinct storytelling perspective that feels akin to a Pecos Bill story.

I struggle a little to describe the film because it unravels like a wonderful combination of ‘Lord of the Flies’, Stranger Things, ‘The Outsiders’ and Wicker Man. The general conceit is slightly different in the book but I’m going to stick to the movie for now. Every October, Sawtooth Jack (he has a few names but this is the coolest) rises from the cornfields and must be destroyed before he reaches the town church by midnight, or else the town will face dire consequences. Consequences, in this case, entails nine years of dust storms and rotten crops.

Sawtooth Jack is a pumpkin golem of sorts, part scarecrow and part…monster? Boys ranging from about 16-19 are subsequently held prisoner in their own homes three days before Halloween without food or water, and then unleashed to track down and kill Sawtooth Jack in a ritual called The Run. Sawtooth Jack has been meticulously stuffed with candy just for this auspicious occasion. The winner and his family are given a new house on the right side of the tracks, a hefty paycheck and miscellaneous perks. The winner himself gets a sportier car, and is allowed to drive beyond the Line and leave town. No one else leaves town. Ever. The town itself, somewhere in Illinois, is run by the elusive Harvester’s Guild, and I will not be giving out any prizes for folks who have figured out the twist by now.

The storytelling is just masterful. I think it’s somewhat rare to see a movie that can let the audience in on the secret while keeping the characters in the dark and maintain tension, but that’s exactly what they’ve managed here. I also think they cast kids who are intentionally young-looking (or I’m getting old, both are possible) and all the violence smacks just a little bit different even though it’s occasionally ridiculous (geyser of basement blood, I’m looking at you).

My favorite thing about Dark Harvest is how masterfully Slade uses chiaroscuro. It’s evident in 30 Days of Night as well as his “‘Hannibal” episodes, but the man is just really really good at it. Technically speaking, chiaroscuro “is an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.” It’s most often talked about in regards to Caravaggio paintings, but Slade is absolutely a modern master. This movie is so insanely beautiful and it just oozes a painterly-ness that I’m absolutely entranced with.

I’ve somehow managed to not actually talk about the acting or anything yet but it’s just a well-rounded cast. Every kid playing a smarmy teen nails how gross and dumb teenage boys can be, and Casey Likes is a genuinely sympathetic hero as Richie Shepard, often paired with Emryi Crutchfield (Kelly Haines) as his plucky foil. Luke Kirby as Officer Jerry Ricks is positively unhinged and steals every scene he’s in with a camp that’s horrifying at times. Also Jeremy Davies is in this one and that’s just always a fun time.

There are honestly a million more things I want to talk about that I don’t have time to expand on in this review. I haven’t even talked about the creature design but uh, it’s good.

At the time of writing, Dark Harvest is available to stream and I would highly recommend grabbing some popcorn and diving in. It’s a brisk 1.5 hours long: it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s scary, it’s beautiful.