2024’s Fantastic Fest –one of the largest horror and sci-fi film festivals in the world— offered tons of fantastic premieres, including hits like Terrifier 3 and V/H/S Beyond. But one of the festival’s coolest films was an under-the-radar gem, Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire. Horror fans are absolutely going to need to check it out.
Found-footage veteran Stuart Oritz (Grave Encounters) directed the movie, which plays out like a true crime documentary. This is so cool because not only is it a great twist on the found-footage trope, but it’s also super timely and real. True crime shows are literally everywhere these days. Audiences can’t get enough of them. But what happens when true crime becomes supernatural?
“I thought this would be a really cool way to approach a horror story,” Oritz told me shortly after the movie’s premiere. “It’s a style you almost never see horror told from.”
In the fictionalized true crime special, two detectives (Terri Apple and Peter Zizzo) are interviewed about a bizarre case they worked on years ago where they tracked a sadistic serial killer who ritualistically murdered his victims and left strange symbols at crime scenes. As the story unfolds, it turns out that maybe this wasn’t just some delusional psychopath but an actual cult member looking to commune with otherworldly forces.
“You start to sense there might be other things involved that make you question how much you really know about the killer,” Zizzo said.
Strange Harvest does a great job of blending genres. The movie isn’t just a fantastic “mockumentary.” It also has fantastic elements of a slasher movie with lots of genuine terror and some wildly elaborate kills, and (don’t worry, no spoilers here) the finale brings in some legit Lovecraftian madness that elevates the film to a whole different level.
As of right now, the movie is looking for distribution, so whether it ends up going to theaters or VOD (or maybe even becoming a Shudder or ScreamBox exclusive?) is still up in the air. But what is for sure is that Strange Harvest is an innovative low-budget horror movie that is destined to become a cult classic thanks to its gripping story, convincing layout, and disturbing killer.
Keep your eyes peeled for this little indie gem (and we’ll be sure to report once we know more, too) because Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire is a fantastic horror movie that both horror and true crime fans will love.
Keith Langston is a writer, reporter, and adventurer whose work has appeared in People, Entertainment Weekly, Lonely Planet, and Screen Rant, just to name a few. To learn more, visit his website.
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Great review, Keith. Strange Harvest sounds like a scary movie!
I hope this comes out soon!
Ooo, Keith, THANKS for sharing this! True crime + slasher in a documentary style? Even if it’s faux, I am so excited to see this one! THANKS for the heads up!