The Harbinger – Frightfest Movie Review
Director: Andy Mitton
Writer: Andy Mitton (Screenplay)
Cast
- Emily Davis (The Plagiarists)
- Gabby Beans
- Laura Heisler
- Jay Dunn (We Go On)
- Stephanie Roth Haberle (Philadelphia)
Plot: Monique ventures out of quarantine to visit an old friend who’s plagued by nightmares. She finds herself drawn into a hellish dreamscape where she must face her greatest fears – or risk never having existed at all.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Harbinger starts as Mavis (Davis) finds herself struggling to hold her life together during a pandemic. She has nobody around her, with one neighbor Jason (Dunn) convincing her to talk to an old friend Monique (Beans).
Monique heads to Mavis’s apartment as she starts to learn about the dreams Mavis has been suffering through. It doesn’t take long before Monique starts seeing the shadowy figure lurking around the apartment. They need to figure out what it wants if they are going to make it out.
Verdict on The Harbinger
Characters
Monique comes to visit her friend in the big city, risking her health during the pandemic. She knows she needs to quarantine afterwards but finds herself trapped in the apartment after an outbreak in the building. It isn’t long before she starts seeing a figure in her nightmares, one that has a habit of trapping people in their dreams. Monique must face her past if she is going to escape the nightmare she has been placed in.
Mavis is a lonely woman struggling to find anything in her life during the lockdowns. She has been suffering horrendous nightmares that she can’t wake up from and turns to Monique for a friend to talk to. Mavis has tried anything to escape her nightmares, hoping a friend gives her a charge to recover.
In the supporting cast, we meet Monique’s family who has their own fear about the pandemic. There are also the other residents in the building Mavis lives in, who have their own judgment on her.
Performances
Gabby Beans in the leading role is strong, as we see her go through so much uncertainty and a range of emotions as the horror is unfolding. She makes us feel as uneasy as her character. Emily Davis brings us a character that is on the edge of her mind, showing us the side effects of everything that is going on.
Story
The story follows two friends that reunite during a pandemic, only to learn they are going through a nightmare experience. As they continue the spiral down the unknown, they must figure out how to escape the nightmare.
In this story, we get to see how the pandemic created new motivation for horror. It shows that people have their minds playing tricks on them. although, it also highlights how the unknown will control people’s lives. The nightmares that Monique goes through, keep us guessing as to what is happening throughout the story.
Themes
The Harbinger is a horror movie that dives into nightmares people can go through. It brings a figure that you would never want to meet to life or in dreams. The movie wants to use the reflection of isolation during the lockdowns in the pandemic to create uncertainty in the minds of the characters. The locations are used well because they end up sending Monique on her journey, which gives her a chance to solve what is happening.
Final Thoughts – The Harbinger is a creepy horror, that is fueled by your own nightmares.
