Director: Alec Gillis
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 82 min.
Hey, have you ever thought to yourself, “boy I’d really like to see John Carpenter’s The Thing, only on a boat and it be really stupid”? Well folks, you’re in luck because Alec Gillis’s Harbinger Down is that film.
Touting itself as a practical-effects-driven homage to classic ’80s sci-fi horror, the film does indeed have practical effects but acts as little more than a sizzle reel, offering no real substance.
The film begins in 1982 with a Russian space pod careening into Earth’s atmosphere carrying what appears to be an alien payload of some sort. Flash forward to today and we see three scientists boarding a crabbing vessel in order to conduct research on whales, only to find the downed pod trapped within the icy waters off the Alaskan coast.
After recovering the pod, the crew barely gets a chance to study it before it thaws enough to release the alien organism onto the ship, infecting all those who encounter it.
This movie is essentially a remake of The Thing in every regard, except in any parts that involve a decent story, acting or dialogue. Gillis, who states in the Kickstarter profile for this film, clearly has a love for the other films that inspired Harbinger Down, but there’s a fine line between homage and simply copy+pasting.
As the creature begins terrorizing the members of the ship, they attempt to freeze it, however they quickly discover the only real way to stop it is by burning it. It also happens to be the type of organism that has the ability to completely take over its host and morph its shape to look like the people it infects. Sound familiar?
The only aspect of the film even worth mentioning is its effects, which are indeed impressive for the most part and use minimal amounts of CG. Lots of puppet work and camera tricks are utilized to bring this organism to life, and it’s effectively creepy and gross, especially the various tendrils that are constantly erupting from its hosts, again much like the creature from The Thing.
Unfortunately, this is a shining example that good effects alone do not equate to a good movie. The characters are all one dimensional, giving stiffer performances than the latex arms of the creature, delivering one awful line after another.
Lance Henriksen sleepwalks through his role as Graff, the ship’s captain, and it almost seems as if the script caused him to temporarily forget he’s playing a human and not reprising his role as the android Bishop from the Alien series.
Harbinger Down works as a solid demo reel for all the special effects crew and creature designers involved in the production, but that’s really where this one ends. The plot is borderline nonsensical, the laughable dialogue is made worse by underwhelming performances, and the overall quality is merely one step above a “Syfy Original.” I’m a huge supporter of more practical effects in movies, but, sadly, this is one that should be avoided.
