Harvest Lake (2016) User Reviews (25)

Who is the audience for this film?

[BA_Harrison · 3/10 · 29 November 2019]

A slow-moving, low-budget, erotic, Lovecraftian independent horror with arthouse pretensions, Harvest Lake is set in and around a still body of water deep in the woods, the perfect setting for eerie otherworldly action. Into this remote locale comes one young couple, Ben and Cat (Dan Nye and Tristan Risk), Cat's best friend Jennifer (Ellie Church), and Jennifer's gay pal Josh (Jason Crowe), who are spending the weekend partying together in a cabin. Joining in with the fun is Mark (Kevin Roach), a stranger that Cat met on the way to the cabin. As the friends relax and enjoy themselves, a strange supernatural presence slowly affects their behaviour, increasing their libidos and reducing their inhibitions.

While Harvest Lake is a technically well-made movie, with impressive cinematography, a brooding atmosphere and reasonable performances, it's hard to see who it is going to appeal to: if you're heterosexual, then the gay stuff can be disconcerting; similarly, if you're gay, then the straight sex will probably be a turn off; and if you're a horror fan looking to be scared or disturbed, then the lack of anything remotely scary or disturbing will prove very frustrating. Much of the film consists of scenes wherein the characters wander aimlessly round the woods or talk about sex, all of which is fairly dull. The ending, which fails to adequately explain matters, sees the friends encountering (and having sex with) a one-eyed creature that looks like a reject from Doctor Who circa the late-'70s, only with more goop, orifices, and protuberances.

2.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 3 for blonde babe Ellie Church, who deserves better.

Slow paced and rather pointless...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 14 June 2017]

It was the synopsis of the movie and the fact that it was labeled as a horror movie that initially caught my attention. It seemed like the movie could have potential to be something interesting. It turned out that the keywords here were "could have"...

"Harvest Lake" turned out to be a sleazefest dressed in a horror wrapping. There was so much pointless nudity and focus on sex acts that the movie was almost a softcore porn flick. It was just too much, and director and writer Scott Schirmer could have opted for a much more neutral approach and a more subtle sexual approach, which would have proved for a much more adequate movie.

The acting in the movie was good, especially taking into consideration that the acting talents had very little to work with in terms of script and story.

The storyline, however, was every bit as mundane as it was generic and predictable. Actually, I will go as far as to claiming that the storylien was sort of pointless, because all that this movie was about was showing sexual depravity instilled upon the minds of the young people by the otherworldly being in the forest.

"Harvest Lake" had adequate special effects, mind you that there wasn't a lot of special effects. The creature in the forest was sort of interesting, but it was marred by having a very low budget appearance to it. So a few more dollars thrown after the special effects department would have done wonders for the movie.

What was the toughest part of the movie to get through was the incredibly slow pace that the storyline was presented in. It just trotted on in a very monotonous pace that really had no ups or downs.

I managed to sit through "Harvest Lake" to the very end, but I found my focus, attention and interest in the movie hard pressed many times throughout the course of the movie. I was hoping that the movie would pick up and become better as it went along, but that hope was in vain. My rating of "Harvest Lake" ends on a generous 3 out of 10 stars.

The fauna is not local

[okpilak · 5/10 · 16 August 2023]

Two couples are headed into the woods for a weekend of fun, and the find a fifth person to join them. In the opening scene, we see a couple, with plenty of passion who then happen to walk into the lake and disappear. That gives one a clue that things may be different at the lake. As the group get settled in, they decide to go down to the lake. Around the lake are some fauna that certainly do not seem local, and several of them are enticed to imbibe in the secretions. Nothing seems amiss, and there is an evening gathering around a fire, with beer and drugs which for them would be entirely normal. But we get some clues that things are not as they seem. It is the birthday of one of the men, and the women have a special surprise for this birthday. I have watched worse, and I have watched better.

Not even close to a good movie.

[ropipgi-581-487166 · 2/10 · 24 April 2017]

This is what happens when you start filming a movie with very small budget and without a finished script. The "story" in the movie is enough for the first act, but instead of writing more story they just padded it out with shots of people in the woods looking for other people or just wandering about.

All characters are paper thin written with 15 seconds dialogue for some backstory, and that means that we don't care about any of them from the beginning.

Not is all bad though, the actors do what they can with the cringe filled dialogue and one of the toughest thing an actor can do is to look comfortable nude next to another nude actor, well they pulled that one off several times.

The setting is ( as proved many times before ) really good for a horror , or in this case mystery movie - but this one is far from a finished product.

Slow paced and bizarre

[Floated2 · 2/10 · 28 August 2020]

Labeled by some as a horror movie but this isn't such. It is more of a mystery type alien film. It starts off relatively okay as the characters are introduced but with its low budget and bland storytelling, the film doesn't offer much or exactly go anywhere.

Then within the final 20 or so minutes it becomes further away as we see these alien type wood creatures. Apparently the people drank some potion type that makes them possessed with those creatures. The film doesn't exactly lead anywhere after that as it is quite short in runtime. Ellie Church is one of the highlights, otherwise this film is a waste.

The only good bit is right at the end

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 23 April 2017]

HARVEST LAKE is a teens-in-the-woods horror film with a difference. It's a slow burner, completely ambiguous for the most part, a film which benefits from a Lovecraftian climax you won't see coming. Unfortunately, this part of the film only occupies the last five minutes of the running time, and up until that point it's something of a bore.

The director does create an arresting opening scene featuring extensive nudity and showing a young couple walking into a rural lake. For the next hour we follow the usual teen camping horror formula with a gay scene added in for good measure. It's very slow and the dialogue isn't good at all, but I did like the Cronenberg-style climax.

Not a horror movie

[davannacarter · 1/10 · 29 May 2016]

This is not a horror movie. I repeat: this is in no way a horror movie. The only good thing I can say about this movie is the opening scene with the bleached blonde getting entirely butt naked. That's the only noteworthy thing about this movie. I think the director put that scene in there to keep the audience interested. Otherwise, I would have turned it off within 20 minutes. Yes, it was so boring, without the opening nude scene, I'm positive I would have stopped watching 20 minutes in.

At the 30 minute mark, I realized I hadn't seen anything, not one thing, remotely horror related: no suspenseful music, no tense atmosphere, no villain, no one getting killed or disappearing, no blood, no screaming, no running in fear, no victims, nothing, absolutely nothing horror related. I didn't turn off the movie, but I fast-forwarded. I fast-forwarded to the end and still saw nothing horror related. None of the horror elements I mentioned above showed up in the movie at all.

As a result, this movie is mislabeled as a horror. It's a drama fantasy. So if you've been mislead into believing this is a horror movie, either psychological suspense horror with little or no violence, or a gore/exploitation horror, or any other kind of horror, you'll find no horror here. At all.

As far as being a good drama/fantasy goes, it's not. The only thing horror related about this movie is the typical horror plot: unsuspecting young people spend a weekend in a secluded rural area with no cell phone reception so they can have fun with booze, weed, and free sex. The acting is mediocre, at best. The director is flat and uninspired. The cinematography is dull and unimpressive. The dialogue is pathetic (Characters say stuff such as, "Like totally whatever, cakeboy"). And the story is all over the place and nonsensical. Instead of the token black character, we have the token gay character. So there is some heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual sex going on in the movie.

All in all, it is mislabeled as a horror movie. There is nothing horror related in this movie at all. It's a drama/fantasy. But as a drama/fantasy, it fails for all the reasons I described above. Don't bother unless you like wasting your time watching amateur cinema.

My mistake: ignoring the bad reviews

[trustyourforce · 1/10 · 8 July 2022]

90% of this movie is people taking about sex and having sex but not in a good way. The horror part starts with 10 minutes left with some boob shaped fruit that brainwashes people. Then the 5 people dive into the bottom of the lake and have sex a lovecraftian monster. And that's it. There's zero explanation of anything and zero reason to watch this.

It wants you

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 27 September 2017]

"Community, Sexuality , Stability," The film starts off like an adult film with two super bodies go at it (Derek Sturgeon + Lucretia Lynn) with full frontal on both. Then they mindlessly walk into the lake until they are gone. The scene changes to two couples (1 couple plus gay guy plus extra eye candy) who do the cabin the woods thing by the lake which takes control of them...more sex, less nudity.

The movie had to stretch out scenes, repeating them in the final scene in order to get the length. This may have been better as a short. The dialogue was okay, maybe slightly above par for a "B" horror.

Theme wise we are looking at a Hobbesian vision in the form of a Leviathan willing to create a Utopian world where one sacrifices freedom for Utopia. Or it could be horror soft core.

Guide: F-word, sex, MFF, MM, bestiality? FF nudity 7 stars for the nudity

Maybe if we do Scooby Doo a porn flick.

[martianwerewolf · 1/10 · 24 November 2017]

Bad porn? the movie is neither what it suggest neither is it an erotic movie.I fail to understand the point of making this video? because it's not a movie, it doesn't deserve to be called a movie. i suggest watching other films than watching this and if you do, do it on fast forward, you won't miss a thing if you ignore the dialogue.

Surprisingly entertaining

[royalttt · 8/10 · 29 June 2020]

Big budget movies often carry big expectations and can easily bring big disappointments, so seeking out something less commercial and financed at a lower budget was the order of the day with 'Harvest Lake'.

We had never heard of this previously and although low-budget movies are expected to have bikini-/scantily clad females as some enticement, the main draw was the mildly disturbing, yet enchanting atmospheric lake setting in the trailer.

Some reviews of 'Harvest Lake' have made comparisons to other movies and we agree that the surreal 'Under the Skin' is similar in atmosphere to 'Harvest Lake', although 'The Blood on Satan's Claw' is a completely different genre of film, so do not be mislead by such a mention of that early 70's classic.

There are some issues with 'Harvest Lake': camera angles and shots could have been improved, especially in the dialogues, along with the exchange between Ben and Cat which was rather contrived. The indoor lighting was another issue, but the lake scenes were perfect, as well as the settings and scene design.

If horror and fast thrills are desired, please stay clear of this film - 'Harvest Lake' attempts to create a somewhat supernatural experience and almost pulls off a success from a low-budget attempt.

Well done!

Don't go in the lake. Or do, or do it in the lake, or don't

[bluegrafx · 6/10 · 11 May 2022]

Two beautiful people run into the woods get naked and have softcore but pretty explicit sex and fall asleep. Women wakes up and there's an Adam and Eve moment with some liquid off a leaf. Then they wander mesmerized like into the lake. Apparently the lake makes you horny and walk into it? It's a decent setup and = erotic horror. The only reason this gets 6/10 is for this and the soundtrack and the cinematography, which are pretty good.

Minutes, days, months? Later four people show up. One couple, one single straight woman, and one single gay dude. They spend what seems like half the running time of the film sitting around a campfire talking. About what? Who knows. Hint, FF here, because it adds nothing to the plot. Another gay dude shows up so now we have two couples. There's some swimsuit sunbathing by the lake. Apparently the lake creature gets to the single gal, who then wants to have a threesome with the straight couple with no nudity and a brief appearance by the monster (who looks like the trash compactor thing from Star Wars) that no one seems to notice.

There's a fully clothed orgy with every one but the first gay dude. Then they run through the woods chasing the gay dude to get him to drink the plant juice.

Abruptly they all wind up in some cavern? Under the lake? Where, because there's no water and no explanation of how they get there.

They don't show up all at once either, but they all start having sex with an oily giant squash with various orifices and appendages. They seem to be absorbed into it after some rubbing up against it while naked. We must assume this was the fate of the couple at the beginning of the film too.

That's it. This really could have been a good movie. The plot (Lovecraftian thing in lake makes you have lots of sex, then you have sex with it until you're absorbed into it) could have worked.

It's almost like two different directors made this movie. We get the erotic/suspense at the beginning. Then we get, boredom: broadcast TV sexual content: unexplained connections between the lake monster, the plants, and the single woman; a glacial pace; and an abrupt transition to the end. Finally we get the premise summed up in one 4 minute "sex" scene with the monster.

Propaganda Film For Celibacy

[twelvetwo · 2/10 · 19 September 2023]

I think- emphasis on think- this was supposed to be an "erotic horror", you know of the kind that used to clog up the video store shelves in the days before the internet. You know. The ones where the images on the box were far more exciting than anything that actually appears in the film. I can imagine "Harvest Lake" has a pretty good box.

Rarely can a film have made sex seem so tedious. It belies it's relatively short running time by feeling interminable as you watch it- indeed time seems to stand still. And then it ends. Thankfully.

The "characters" are dull as ditch water, generally unappealing and not even particularly attractive. Eroticism remains elusive.

And they all liked happily ever after, Or something.

why?

[mhowell-37215 · 18 February 2017]

Have you ever watched a movie and asked yourself what was the point? Please don't waste your time watching this movie. 2 hours of my life I cannot get back. It was like watching a porno, but its background story wasn't as good... and it wasn't a porno. IMDb 5 lines of required review text, is too much to ask for this movie.

Messed up movie

[michelelewis88 · 2/10 · 5 June 2019]

How this movie isn't x rated I have no idea. Full frontal nudity on both men and women, gay sex, beastiality, it was a gross messed up movie. Why it was created, one never knows. The scene with them having sex with the eye creature was beyond gross.

Poorly Made Gay Porn

[jazathapus · 1/10 · 8 July 2017]

Would you like to imagine the very worst Sci-fi Channel original movie mixed with a gay porno? If your answer is no, then don't bother watching Harvest Lake.

If you did, then don't bother watching Harvest Lake. What you imagined was probably better.

If they can't do better than this.................

[StevenFlyboy · 1/10 · 27 August 2017]

This movie sucked. "Headless" was much better. In the first 45 - 50 minutes of this movie, nothing much happens in the way of horror. It's just a bunch of kids on a camp out talking about sex and drugs. During the films last 30 minutes, some kinds of mutant creatures show up, but since there is no explanation of what they were, why they were there, where they came from or what their purpose was, the movie makes little or no sense at all. This movie is yet just another excursion into the world of artsy-fartsy movies that nobody can figure out. The makers of the film should just stick to serial killers. At least that's something the real world can relate to......The only saving grace of this film is Ellie Church. I have loved her since the first time i saw her and i'm so glad they didn't kill her off in this movie like they did in the previous one. She is perfect "eye candy" and I can't get enough of her..but other than that, i wouldn't waste time watching this...there is no point, rhyme or reason to the story...we need another movie about a serial killer who has sex with severed heads....

Horror without anything Horrific

[heaterpistol · 3/10 · 12 May 2023]

A group of friends intend to spend time at the lake to celebrate a birthday. There is a couple. One gay guy. A tattooed lady. And a stranger with drugs who was invited to join them.

The first alien we see is a tree trunk with a large eye. Next we see the girl try to eat foam that was coming out of a kind of fungus in the forest. Her behavior was more strange than the alien's behavior.

There was an orgy scene, not in a nice cofy bed, but out among the poisin ivy, ticks and mosquitoes. Implausible.

The gay fellow was converted against his will bu other members of the group. He was forced to drink white sap from an extraterrestrisl fungus.

The final silly scene was an underwater orgy scene. Smearing tar on themselves. Writhing around the tattooed lady. If there was a point to this mish mash if a film, it is the dangers of peer pressure. Yet nothing in the film was horrific. Boo !!

Invasion Of The Booty Snatchers

[hiramthreets · 1/10 · 14 November 2023]

Soft core porn disguised as a horror film. A real snoozefest, that had me falling asleep. The entity that came from the abyss, who and what was it? The creature from the black lagoon distant cousin. I clapped in glee as it ended, because it was painful to watch. Slow and boring with no climactic ending. Five friends rolling around in lube, this movie made me feel like I was in one of those sleazy time square theaters from the 80s, I didn't need a shower though, i needed some good sleep. Please don't waste your time watching this film, you might get better joy watching paint dry. Trust me, I'm good at picking movies.

A Low Budget Under the Skin

[DaliParton · 6/10 · 31 March 2020]

If you liked Scarlet Johansson's Under the Skin (2013) but wanted more sex, more lovecraft and a little more dialog without any more exposition you'll probably like this film. The actors are attractive and their characters came across as genuine.

I thought it was better than it had any right to be, and it looks like all of the people involved were better than the budget.

Engrossing if slightly flawed supernatural effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 15 August 2019]

Heading out for a weekend in the woods, a group of friends arrives at a secluded cabin where they soon come across a mysterious stranger who joins them, unaware that the trip is about to be crashed by the emergence of a strange entity around the lake that begins to target them one-by-one.

Overall, there was quite a lot to like with this one. One of the strongest aspects to this one is the rather strong build-up here that manages to make the group immensely fun and enjoyable. There's no drama or urbane secrets to be had from each other but are instead treated to a wholly enjoyable and fun starting point as they are fun to be around, joking around, offering comebacks to each other and playfully teasing that gives a sense of genuine friendship between everyone. That, in turn, manages to add a strikingly enjoyable quality to the horror scenes later on. The build-up from these early scenes is just as good, going from absolutely stellar scenes featuring a hypnotic quality to the group being affected by the atmosphere of the lake, creating not only a haunting quality to these scenes but likewise furthering the sexualized air created here. As that slowly turns into the discovery of something not quite human being in the woods with them, not only subtle or physical which are all possible due to the fine start this one works from. While this work is incredibly well-done, the strong poetic nature of these scenes does make it hard to fire out the general sense of what's going on. As characters seem to shift between being possessed one minute and acting like they're normal the next, the further throws confusion upon things as we try to figure out the whole plotline involving the group coming under the spell of whatever's living in the woods surrounding the lake which seems to feed on sexual energy. That is furthered along by the surreal, dialogue-less final ten minutes where they seem to be pleasing a gloopy, pulsating blob of some kind, yet without words to fill in the blanks, this becomes somewhat frustrating. That factor does lead to the lone true flaw in the lack of horror action. Although the group is slowly becoming possessed by a strange force living in that area, its intentions are never remotely threatening as the general atmosphere is kept incredibly light. Instead of being stripped away of their humanity and forcing everyone else to do so against their will or meeting their end via a ravenous, blood-crazed beast, the seemingly utopian based nature of whatever's in the lake doesn't provide as much of a jolt as it should've since there's a sense of harmony and euphoria experienced rather than fear and revulsion. As that could combine with the slow, deliberate pace to throw some people off, it's the only issue to be had with the film.

Rated Unrated/NC-17: Full Male and Female Nudity, Continuous Sexual Activity, Language, Violence and drug use.

The slime is sexy

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 1 October 2023]

Five friends go on a camping trip in the rural United States: three men and two heavily tattooed women. There appears to be sexual tension in the air. A game of truth or dare leads to one of the three men surprisingly choosing another man for a triste, leaving the two women to seduce the one remaining man.

Throughout there are visions of strange, flesh-coloured pods, leaking a cloudy white fluid, and the opening of what looks like a reptilian eye.

Also, tentacles make an appearance, reminding us of hentai.

"Harvest Lake" was better than I expected. I stumbled upon it after reading about horror movies with maximum sex, so I expected a cheap porno with cheaper porno aspects. This is not what I got. The movie is more interesting than that, and more subtle. It's also pretty well shot, and occasionally made me think of "Midsommar".

Pleasure lake

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 1 October 2022]

No pun intended - and maybe you should not be fooled by my summary line - as some may have been fooled by the poster (which I think is great by the way). The movie is first and foremost a horror movie. There are some erotic undertones and there is nudity, but if this is the reason you want to watch it ... you may as well be dissapointed in the end.

There is a lot of mystery, there is a lot of ... well artful thoughts and symbolism I reckon. The lake, what does it stand for? What makes it so ... attractive? You will get answers ... well some answers I reckon. Because while the ending is quite visual, I am not sure if it will be satisfying - sorry for the pun. Also not for the faint hearted or those who have issues with different sexualities and likings ... yes the movie is not just heterosexual - and that was not even planned as a pun ... but there you go ... or come.

a phantasmagoric cinematic journey

[james_bickert · 8/10 · 27 April 2016]

Harvest Lake is another excellent example of when talented artists successfully merge exploitation with art film aesthetics within the frame work of the horror genre. If you enjoy beautiful and lyrical film experiences, "Blood on Satan's Claw" comes to mind, this will be a wonderful addition to your collection. Stock horror conventions are quickly stripped away and paint fresh artistic stokes into a film that almost feels more European than American. With excellent performances by a solid leading cast, beautiful cinematography and some unsettling imagery, this is a well-crafted piece of cinema showcasing a new voice and tone in the genre. Seek this film out. It's no clone.

A movie plot with potential

[billnsasha · 8/10 · 5 December 2022]

Bottom of the line is I thought it was an interesting plot with potential. I also found it interesting that someone reviewing it likened it to a lovecraftian style. I enjoy the way they tried to blend humans with plants and or interspecies in what might be considered a symbiotic relationship. They did very well on the special effects. Cons are that it needed editing to pick up the pace and speed things along more, and I just didn't really get into it like I wanted to. The charactors didn't make me believe that they themselves were really believing what was happening, or whole heartedly really into it. I think with the proper director, crew and a little bit of magic it could be made into a hit.