Strange Harvest (2025)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Shiny Troubles

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

It's not easy to pull of a convincing "mockumentary" (fictional documentary), but Stuart Ortiz's ingenious Strange Harvest does it both with an exceedingly intelligent screenplay, and a firm grasp of documentary style.

San Bernardino homicide detectives Alexis "Lexi" Taylor (Terri Apple) and Joe Kirby (Peter Zizzo) tell the story of the lengthy hunt for a serial killer known as "Mr. Shiny" (Jessee J. Clarkson) in a documentary. The events begin with the brutal murder of a family of three in 2010. The police discover a strange symbol painted in blood on the ceiling of the family's home, suggesting that Mr. Shiny is back after a mysterious, unexplained fifteen year absence.

The documentary reveals Mr. Shiny's first victims in the early 1990s, before returning to the present. The killer strikes again and again, never leaving any fingerprints or DNA, and clues are scarce. But little by little, the detectives build their case, all of which leads up to some kind of terrifying ritual — involving a kidnapped baby — on the night of Friday the 13th, 2011.

Written and directed by Ortiz, Strange Harvest builds a history for its intriguing villain, up to and including a strange supernatural lore around the coming of "Kaliban," as well as explaining his travels during his fifteen year absence. (This sequence is totally unnecessary to the narrative, but deepens the experience, making it all the more believable.)

It also follows the detectives' legwork, piecing together the most meager of clues, hitting dead ends, and sparking strokes of luck. No detail is too small for this movie. Even the actors Apple and Zizzo feel like they could be real homicide detectives.

Ortiz also has a feel for true-crime documentaries and reality shows and the cheesy way they manipulate the stories for maximum dramatic impact, including pregnant pauses (things like "but that was nothing compared to what was coming next") and shocking cuts. The 1990s-era footage looks totally authentic, from clothing styles to video technology.

But where Strange Harvest becomes something more than just a clever crime re-creation is in its epilogue. Taylor and Kirby confess that they have no idea why Mr. Shiny did what he did, and his crimes will not only be a mystery forever, but will weigh on their consciences forever. The tragedy is that all of this stuff, all these fascinating events, comes to mean exactly nothing.