A serial killer out for revenge. A final girl suffering from the trauma of her attack. A plot device. These are the trappings of many horror films that have slashed their way across silver screens or popped up in the queues of our streaming rosters. Now, there is nothing wrong with formulaic stories; there’s a reason why simple, tested formulas prove successful. And yet, there are times when even when the formula is present, everything surrounding it falls apart. This is sadly the case with Harbinger, a chiller that mixes the occult with a slasher and a splash of the paranormal, resulting in a cocktail that is more watery than smooth.
The film opens on the maniacal satanic serial killer Henry Decker (Peter Woodward) stalking his victim, Julia (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott), around the halls of a house. Julia manages to escape, and the authorities descend and promptly kill Decker, but not before he can transfer his dying soul into a fortune-telling machine. Fast-forward five years, and Julia is struggling to move on with her life. That is when an opportunity arrives in the form of a paranormal TV presenter (Gary Webster).
By making her an offer she cannot refuse, Julia returns to the murder house. There, along with a team of experts ranging in specialty from the occult to the paranormal. However, upon entering the house, they soon discover that the mechanical marvel contains Decker’s trapped soul. Now, the machine is predicting grisly deaths await each member of the group. Controlling events from limbo, Decker hopes to claim enough souls so he can return to life, and, of course, kill again.
A lot is going on in Harbinger, which makes it at least mildly entertaining. Many times a horror film can feel like a hodgepodge of different ideas, themes, and even tones. That is certainly the case here. The difficulty is not that there are too many ideas; it’s that all the ideas exist all at once. They never marinate long enough for anything to stick. Outside of the possessed fortune teller machine, which is at least a clever plot device, much of the story is lashed into a confusing and chaotic frappe. It looks enticing, but the taste is rather sour.
This is a film that attempts to embrace classic British horror. Think Hammer, specifically. There are even nods to Wishmaster and, above all else, the movie Big. Harbinger is a film that wants to evoke the mantra of things that go bump in the night. And, premise-wise, there is a chilling, almost creepy element. However, the performances in the film border on melodramatic to outright campy. It is a bit of a vexing presentation that, while not entirely at odds, does result in moments of unexpected laughter or even cringe.
Frankly, when the film focuses its energies squarely on the possessed fortune teller machine, everything seems to move smoothly. The movie veers into bloody carnage territory, and a few moments create genuine suspense and lingering dread.
The problem is that the characters operate as cardboard clichés. They exist because of the story rather than existing in it. Now, stock characters and tropes are common in any story, especially horror, which, as I mentioned, can rely to great effect on a formula. However, when there is no established personality and the situation has been seen before, even with slight alterations, the whole endeavor can feel like a drag.
Here is a film that clocks in under ninety minutes, and yet the pacing plods at certain points, then accelerates to tie up dangling threads, while we in the audience are still trying to catch our breath. Ultimately, the premise is unique, but the structure and execution aren’t distinctive enough or fleshed out enough to capture an audience’s imagination or evoke the right kind of nightmares you’d want from a horror movie.
You do not need any clairvoyance to see the outcome here. Harbinger will exhaust the expert and bore the novice.
Harbinger is currently available on Digital platforms courtesy of Miracle Media.
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Outside of the possessed fortune teller machine, which is at least a clever plot device, much of the story is lashed into a confusing and chaotic frappe. It looks enticing, but the taste is rather sour.
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GVN Rating
Writing & podcasting, for the love of movies.
His Letterboxd Favorites: The Dark Knight, Halloween, Jaws & The Odyssey.
