THE HARROWING: Well, Not Really

A troubled cop goes undercover in a mental institution to find out the truth about his best friend’s death during a ritualistic killing spree. Demonic possession. Twists and turns. Man’s mind-bending struggle with morality and the darkness lying in wait to capture his soul. Sound intriguing? One would think.

The Harrowing promises such supernatural offerings only to deliver a bland, soft-focus thriller with none of the scares. Written and directed by Jon Keeyes, this intermittently interesting venture takes its time in going nowhere.

The Devil Is In The Details

The film stars Matthew Thompkins as Detective Ryan Calhoun. As stereotypical as his name, Calhoun becomes obsessed with finding out why his partner and best-friend snapped during a sting operation, leading to the brutal slaughter of everyone involved. Taken off the case by his superior, played by a hard-nosed Micheal Ironside, Calhoun’s off-duty investigation leads to a forensic hospital run by the cryptic Dr. Whitney. Arnold Vosloo eerily portrays the doctor who believes humans may have literal demons guiding our darker impulses.

Along the way, Calhoun befriends the strange patients of Dr. Whitney, while having horrific nightmares that begin to bleed into reality. Or so it seems. Moving at a crawl, the plot takes its time with dull conversations making the quick gore scares feel out of place. The tone is unsure of what sort of picture The Harrowing is supposed to be, never going far enough into horror territory.

Trying to seem deeper than portrayed, the film suffers from overlong scenes of cliched detective work rather than setting up antagonists and motivation. Vosloo is a competent actor given nothing to do with a grossly underdeveloped character, though he is not to blame for lack of substance as he does what he can with the little provided. The same could be said for just about everyone on screen. This is a case of great on-screen talent restrained by a clumsy screenplay in need of a couple more passes to an otherwise decent concept. Alas, we’re left with a run of the mill horror with little fright.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Now on to the technical aspects.  The cinematography is sharp and well thought out in many scenes, doing what they could with assumably high-end video. Although a concerning number of shots play with an abundance of overdone soft focus found in a late night soft-core cable feature. And then there’s this ineffective green filter often used by David Fincher with great success only to be cribbed in comparison.

The practical effects team should be applauded. When they used practical effects the result was convincingly off-putting, the intended goal. The creature work is top notch and the film has no shortage of gore, even if it comes in short bursts. With a stronger narrative, the talents of the FX crew would have shone brighter. Which brings up the unfortunate use of CGI blood. Why?

Why spend the money on well made practical effects only to cheapen the experience with unrealistic blood which digitally trickles across the scene like a leaky pipe only to take any tension out of the scene? Future filmmakers, if you take one thing away from any of this, remember: Squibs are your friend. Any innovative team can make them on the cheap. Once on screen, the shot is forever so make it look good.

Squibs aside, another lesson to be learned, know your limitations. Shooting on video, although not ideal, can be accomplished with little to no notice if done well. Slow motion, for example, looks stuttered and fake, a problem found here where the use of digital slo-mo gives away the auteurs hand visually, cheapening the experience. Again, money and time factor in, though an adept use of lighting and restraint might have worked just as well to achieve the wanted tension intended.

The Harrowing: It’s A Twist

To call The Harrowing a total misfire would be unfair. Many times throughout, moments shined brightly, gleaming the promise of a better film. The cast pulled their weight, transforming an underdeveloped script into a watchable venture. The premise is there, minus a punch-up on the screenplay to smooth the edges, but in the end, it fails to take the audience down the intended rabbit hole which was thought to be a satisfying ‘twist’ finale. A slow build should not slow down the film only to leave head-scratching questions as ambiguous as the plot. There are far better-unanswered endings in cinema worth your time.

Have you seen The Harrowing? What did you think of its ambiguous conclusion? Let us know in the comments below!

The Harrowing will be released in the US on December 25, 2018. For all international release dates, see here.