Strange Harvest (2025)

True crime has exploded in popularity in America over the past decade. Major streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max are known for their glossy, in-depth true crime documentaries. For better or worse, the popularity of these shows have helped make violent tragedies the subjects of casual water cooler conversations all over the country.

These programs will typically feature the detectives who worked on whatever case is being covered. They’re interviewed by a narrator about the trials and tribulations they endured while chasing after (insert infamous killer here).

Strange Harvest is a found footage movie inspired by these documentaries. It tries mightily to imitate them and usually succeeds.

Set in the Inland Empire in southern California, the film details the desperate search for an enigmatic serial killer named Mr. Shiny (played by Jessee J. Clarkson) who is responsible for a series of eerie occult murders. He sends taunting letters to the police, similar to the real life Zodiac Killer.

Mr. Shiny is not a particularly realistic serial murderer. He dispatches victims in a wide variety of ways. There is also no specific type of targeted victim. Men, women, kids, he’s not picky at all. You could say he’s an equal opportunity murderer.

This is highly unusual for real serial killers, who tend to stick to specific patterns. Normally these discrepancies wouldn’t matter to me, but in a movie that tries so hard to seem real, these improbabilities detract from its credibility.

I’m far from an expert on true crime. I prefer the fake stuff! But, if even I can see the issues here, real true crime fanatics are easily going to pick them apart. This movie also shows graphic uncensored footage of the victims’ bodies, which, for good reason, is not something you usually see in real true crime documentaries.

If you can put aside these discrepancies, and just enjoy Strange Harvest as a movie, then you’ll get a truly creepy and disturbing experience.

Mr. Shiny is Comin’ To Get Ya!

strange harvest movie — Roadside Attractions

Mr. Shiny commits his first murders in 1993 and mysterious vanishes. He returns in 2013 an embarks on an even more bizarre and bloody killing spree. A strange triangle symbol is left at the crime scenes. One of the central mysteries of Strange Harvest is this symbol’s meaning and how it relates to Mr. Shiny’s actions.

Detectives Kirby (Peter Zizzo) and Taylor (Terri Apple) are the main interview subjects. Both give convincing performances, especially Apple, who hits the perfect note as a jaded, skeptical, world-weary homicide detective. Zizzo delivers a somber performance as a detective who feels deep regret and guilt over his difficulties bringing Mr. Shiny to justice. They seem like real cops.

Strange Harvest is directed by Stuart Ortiz (Grave Encounters). He generally does a fine job building and sustaining tension throughout. His movie’s creepiness hits its peak when Shiny breaks into the home of a teenage girl who is home alone.

Victoria (Dawsyn Eubanks) happens to be recording herself on her computer’s webcam when Shiny attacks her. This vicious and disturbing sequence goes places you won’t expect and leads to an improbable, but extremely grotesque, conclusion.

The storyline gets muddled toward the end, with unnecessarily elaborate and detailed explanations of Mr. Shiny’s occult obsessions. Astrology, ancient pottery, and mysterious aerial phenomena are added into what had been a tight, straightforward story.

I don’t think any of this was needed. Mr. Shiny is creepy enough as he is. It would have been scarier if he had turned to just be a seemingly normal guy who was hiding his dark side from everyone. His mask is this film’s greatest invention. It’s unsettling in all the right ways.