User reviews

A family moves to a new town with a seemingly autistic daughter and the people in the neighbourhood start committing suicide. Who's causing it? Who's the Harbinger?

I went into this with very low expectations because no one had written a review and only 115 people had rated it but I managed to watch it until the end.

Low-budget supernaturals usually get switched off after about 20 minutes but I got through the whole two hours in one sitting. There's no backstory. The whole situation is unexplained and gradually unfolds over the course of the movie. The special effects are low-budget but not too cringeworthy.

In my personal opinion, a few things prevented this film from being great. The muddled storytelling, with flashbacks (which I am never a fan of) and characters making ominous, but unrevealing comments. An over ambitious storyline which needed more time to develop and fill in the gaps. And the overall atmosphere of the film felt more like a made for TV movie, or an episode of Scooby Doo, than a horror movie. The acting was okay, but patchy, ranging from wooden to overacting. The actual horror content was fairly minimal, going more for the creepy anticipation rather than jump scares and gore. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there was just an underlying feeling of, for want of a better word, niceness.

Having said all that, the story was interesting and had much potential, the main characters were acted well and there were some genuinely creepy moments. But overall lacked any impact and was a bit too obvious.

Imagine the Hallmark Channel decided to change up their usual insipid love stories for horror and The Harbinger is kind of what you might get. It has all the weaknesses of those romances: incredibly over scored, full of tropes strung together like ornaments on a Christmas tree, love with no passion (here its manifests as almost all the horror taking place off screen), played out (fairly well) by stock characters. There's not a surprise to be found in the story and the ending feels tacked on from a totally different film. As the "action" part of the film commenced I was actually embarrassed to still be watching. However, I wanted to review it to prevent others from the same fate, since it was some IMDB reviews that finally pushed me over the edge into viewing this. For horror newbies and, perhaps, Hallmark romance lovers only.

Oh boy this was bad. Terribly bad.

There's a reason why class z movies are called like that, and this film is clear example of it. I can't recall having watched a more bizarre, pointless and erratic horror film in my life, well maybe The Fog could be a suitable contender in this category.

From the way it has been filmed and executed , to the dialogues and photography, everything looks like a tv movie made with 5 bucks and doubtful good intentions.

It's absolutely unfathomable to me what was the story trying to portray.

I hope no one else wastes time on this cinematic atrocity. Avoid at all costs.

Wooden , Shame as there was a film in there somewhere .. This felt like the beggining of a good potential idea but was ruined by a awful cast apart from mum & dad everyone else gave a poor performance and it was just laughable in places it also started to lose itself in some places and become a incoherent plot , like tge writers had a idea but then got all confused stoned on something. There is some OK effects and I can see ideas taken from other films towards the end was kind of reminded of invitation to hell and phantasm.. all so a episode of buffy called hush I think.. The effects and atmosphere didn't gel and it was confusing if this wanted to be scary or a kids horror comedy.. I wasn't able to not watch or give up though I nearly did first 20 minutes or so as the little girl is so unrealistic bad acting it was annoying.. This misses the mark on. Being a unique horror story by being a babbling mess in place and wooden in others. Shame because they're some good supernatural elements.. but this needed more work.

Sorry, this is a worse horror film which I cannot recommend to watch if you are horror fans

The acting feel soulless and scripted (of course it is scripted but only a good one can make the audience blurred between reality and school drama), too many exaggerating soundtrack, the transition scene feels in hurry, jumpscares are predictable, conversation not in the right place, the horror genre is unclear (why in the middle it turn in supernatural? Fantasy??), even the main villain reminds me some part of wizarding world (whoops, wrong movie...).

The most bothering one, the plot twist even doesn't really help to uplift the entire story...

If you're an avid horror fans, this film is definitely not for you. Someone may like this film, unless me.. Sorry.

I'm learning more and more that positive reviews are so very subjective. I'm not often angry after watching a movie, knowing that I'll never get those 2 hours back, well played "Chicken Soup for the Soul' media (lol). A terrible class project at best, full of low-rent creatures of Diabolical nature, and After Effects trickery.

The one hat tip I'll give is to the main male character. He admittedly didn't seem to have a lot to work with, but gave it the old college try. Even know it was a little "hammy", he seemed to have the makings of good character range, and was mostly believable.

I'd probably ask for a visit from the Harbinger myself before I put myself through the pain of watching this little screen "gem" again...

When I sat down to watch the 2022 thriller / horror "The Harbinger", I did so without ever having heard about the movie. But I will say that I did find the movie's cover/poster interesting enough to catch my attention. And since I hadn't already seen "The Harbinger", of course I opted to do so.

Writers Will Klipstine and Amy Mills managed to put together a storyline and script that actually was interesting enough for the most of the movie. However, running at nearly two hours, the movie felt somewhat long and as if it needed a more thorough hand in the editing room. There were times when the movie felt like it was running in Neutral and was getting nowhere. But the overall impression was adequate enough.

The acting performances in the movie were fair. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in this particular movie, but they did carry the movie well enough. However, I just wouldn't go as far as to saying that there were any spectacular and outstanding performances on the screen though.

Visually then "The Harbinger" was adequate in terms of CGI and special effects. Again, nothing outstanding here, but the effects served their purpose well enough.

This is not a movie that I would return to watch a second time though, simply because the storyline just doesn't have the contents to support a second viewing. Nor is it a movie that I would recommend horror fans to rush out to get to watch.

My rating of director Will Klipstine's 2022 movie "The Harbinger" lands on a four out of ten stars.

I agree with the rotten tomato critic that said they save the best for last. The second half was great. But it needed the first half to set everything up. It takes its time to build the foundation. You really don't see much of that anymore. I loved it.

How do I say without spoilers? Halfway through, it takes an unexpected turn. It was around that point I'm wondering where it's going, because that's where movies usually go south. And then it takes a completely unexpected turn. I love the originality. I love that they didn't get lazy and do the typical creepy kid movie. Can't say any more without giving spoilers other than its innovative, creative, and above all else, original.

Expectations play a large role in reaction to a film. This trailer makes this seem like a very fast-paced film. It's the opposite. The serious horror fans looking for fast-paced 'blood and guts' are now being replaced by people who just want to see a good movie. But even though the pacing starts slow, it is perfect, never once decreasing - every few minutes, it ramps the speed up a notch from slower to less slow, to medium, and so on, until finally intense and emotional at the very end. Rather than going after the low-hanging fruit of graphic gore and endless jump scares, this filmmaker has taken the more difficult road of substance storytelling and pulled it off. Off topic, it also has a unique style, some 'wink-wink' humor and theatricality that I appreciated.

I'm not sure what it is about this movie it seems like most of the parts are there, the story is decent, and the camera work is fine maybe it's the actors. Without trying to sound too mean all of the actors seem ugly, not Hollywood ugly but ugly ugly lol, ( moe from the Simpsons) the main character Daniel just annoyed me for some reason, the little girl seemed stale and wooden although I don't hold that against child actors. Floating Hawk seemed off as well maybe they just didn't have the time to develop her but it just seemed rushed. The first and only native American he meets just happens to know everything and how to stop what's happening. I believe they have a name for that lol anyway it's an ok movie nothing to write home about but passable.

No pun intended (intentioned?) ... the movie really tries to develop something. And there is some stuff that works. Camera wise especially - unfortunately the acting is not up to the task most of the time. The cinematography is nice and ok - not sure if that is enough for you to decide and say you'll watch it anyway.

That all said, if you are into horror movies and eerie/scary kids ... you could do wrong. Creepy - well it gets at times, but not enough to have a lasting impact (again no pun intended). The movie also had a different title in Germany - once or twice I had an issue and started re-watching something I already knew - because of the new title. Effects are ok - I just don't think this will make too many people .... well happy (no pun intended)

If there is anything good to say about this movie is that it is worthy for the people at Rifftrax.

The trailer looked great, but that's where it ends. The acting is ABYSMAL-especially the wife/mother. I tuned out so badly and quickly that I don't even remember most character names

The ONLY positive I can give is for the girl who played Rosalie (the daughter). Even though she is mostly silent-she has a super scary and threatening presence about her that I find believable.

Everything else (acting, script, length of film) is a joke.

This could have been great short film. What a waste of opportunity.

Sometimes a mediocre movie gets saved by a decent ending but this was absolutely not the case in The Harbinger. On the contrary, the second part was the worst part of the movie, it looked like the writers were a bit bored or out of inspiration there, well good inspiration that is. There are parts of the movie that were okay, surprisingly I would say, but there are plenty of parts that were just bad. The acting wasn't great either, some actors did the best they could, but others were just painful to watch. The child actress Madeleine McGraw wasn't very convincing, the horror genre is definitely not her thing. It all started promising but in the end it was just a waste of time.

The first half of the movie is genuinely good, and so is the acting. The second half is "good idea; terrible execution". The writing and dialogue flounders and becomes laughably bad; paricularly in that one scene where the girl tells her parents the story of 'the fly and the cockroach'. Either there was a deadline or the writer got lazy, and the movie takes a nosedive. That said I was still pleased by some of the plot twists that I did not see coming. The special effects and costume are low budget, but not too terrible. The acting during the first half is pretty good; I enjoyed the child actors performance, and for the most part; the acting is good. There are some unecessary scenes, writing issues, and the ending is not good, but other than that; its worth a watch on a friday night at home.

Lead actor is the real deal and that goes a long way. If you're going to watch an actor carry a movie, he better have "it" and he does. It's rare for these movies you've never heard of. Even more so once you know all his secrets and the film's secrets overall. His emotional range in the film is from 0 to max and everything in between, and all of it is real. My husband and I tend to follow actors and their movies just as much as looking for movies themselves. He's a great discovery. Look forward to watching his future stuff.

All of the acting is great. When the town's secret is revealed you realize the townspeople were great too. The actress who played the wife and mother was wonderful. The daughter was great - heartbreaking watching her dad try to get through to her. Their relationship is the heart of this. The neighbor is an amazing actor. The guy who played the devil was an absolute delight.

As for the movie, this is not one of those films where you can daydream. It is very detail oriented. My husband tends to be more critical of films than I am but when it was over he really enjoyed it. We both thought it was original. We were both emotionally moved at the end. That is rare for him.

Saw the trailer and almost didn't bother...how many more evil kid movies do we need? To say I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I refuse to do a spoiler post so I will just say this is not an "evil kid" movie. They go a completely different direction. So damn refreshing to see original material.

The movie makes you think. Keeps you on your toes. Got a little hokey at the end, but it's one of those things where you're either going to be on board or you're not. Not related to quality just a taste thing. I was pushing for the family to get it done so a little hokey is ok by me as long as acting is good, which it was. Overall entertaining.

Every once in a while I have a tough day where I'm teetering on the fence of falling off. A year ago I would have called this movie garbage but I needed this today. Thank you. Why don't they make movies like this anymore? This movie is all about making up for past mistakes. Righting the wrongs. Even if it takes more than one lifetime. And in the end it has the optimistic message of hope, redemption, and that anything is possible. I don't want to watch a movie where everything sucks. I'm jaded enough.

Besides all that, the music is gorgeous, the family is emotional and full of heart, the town is creepily weird (as they should be) and the story kept me guessing. Thank you for putting something entertaining and positive out in the world. The world needs more of these movies.

Don't think I've seen a movie quite like this. I read all the reviews (mostly positive but also said the movie was too long, not total horror, complicated plot, etc). I see all the negative scores here, so I decided to see which way I'd go. Wow. Not sure what to think here. But the tie-breaker is how I feel and the more and more I THINK about it, the more I think the movie succeeded. I'll give this dude credit. It's different. And you definitely need to be on your toes to follow. Good atmosphere throughout. I cared about the father and his relationship with the daughter. And the lore - that's the part that I think is so different. They put a LOT of thought and planning into this. I think I'm buying in. Will def watch again.

This was a compelling story with a fun and moving finish.

The movie is not so much about the girl but rather about how to save her. Her soul is already gone at the beginning of the movie but it later gets explained exactly how and why.

Without spoilers I will say the family has a secret.

But what the family doesn't realize is that the town they have been sent to also has a secret - related to them. I can't and won't say more.

If you're into that type of supernatural mystery, watching it all converge together with relics, mysticism, & magic is very entertaining. I give bonus points for originality. After renting, I purchased.

If you want to be scared in a way that you're hiding behind your coat, watch Smile or Barbarian. I would say there's only one or two scary moments in The Harbinger, but that's not what they're going for. This movie is really in its own category. It's different. If different is what you want, it's worth it but don't expect the formula you see in Smile, for example. I think what really shows the greatness of The Harbinger is... if I look at a movie like Smile, which is scary, after it's over I can say, "It's like It Follows and the Ring." Not that original. But good. The entire purpose of those movies is one thing - get people to hide under the blanket with jump scares or the anticipation of them. And I LOVE those movies. But there's room for both if you're in a different mood and know what you're going in to. I can't really compare The Harbinger to anything because it is so different. I haven't seen a movie like it. I don't want to give anything away but you have different mythologies, relics, the devil, a native seer, a sort of possessed girl (This is not a "possession" movie, but I won't say why), all these unexpected twists, it's funny in parts, heartfelt in others, and there's always sort of an overly ominous, creepy vibe throughout. And all of the acting is great, particularly when you look back after knowing the twists. Great watch if your only goal is not wanting to be scared or see gore, which this movie doesn't have. I believe it's PG-13, which would explain the lack of violence and gore. If you want to watch an interesting supernatural mystery to see what happens next, it's worth it. I will watch again.