Review of Harbinger Down (2015) by David R — 30 Jul 2015

Aging horror and science fiction icon, Lance Henriksen, continues riding on the fame he had accumulated from his glory days as Bishop in Aliens (1986) as he plunges into the blistering cold setting of Alec Gillis' Harbinger Down, a premise that borrows so heavily from John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) and Alien (1979) that it might as well be a love letter to the slimy science fiction horror films of old.

Flanked by C-list unknowns, Henriksen doesn't find much to do aboard the Harbinger for around fourty minutes, at which point everything quickly goes to hell as the forgettable characters - cardboard clichés-cum-expendable meatbags - are sprayed with purple gunk and begin growing tentacles as Gillis' (and producer Tom Woodruff Jr.') Amalgamated Dynamics find the perfect opportunity to utilize the duo's special effects experience in practical creature effects, proving that once again, the latter delivers a tangible experience that CGI (mostly) isn't able to.

Like many indie horror films unrestrained by shackles cast by large studio execs, Harbinger Down was funded through Kickstarter after Gillis and Woodruff's work on The Thing's 2011 prequel was shafted by Universal Studios, which replaced the duo's practical effect work (done through their own Amalgamated Dynamics) entirely with computer-generated imagery, drawing ire and interest when fans found about said travesty; this eventually led to the conception of Harbinger Down. As for how this had upset fans, the explanation lies with Gillis and Woodruff being protégées of the famous Stan Winston, the visual effects guru of the Terminator, Jurassic Park, and Predator films, along with Aliens.

And that's exactly what the film delivers in their lengthy experience in the visual and creature effects department, though not much else. Beyond the last fourty minutes or so, Harbinger Down is a dull retread of old science fiction horror films, boasting equally dull cinematography by first timer Benjamin L. Brown, as the color grading ranges from blue to well... blue, while the made-for-TV camera work is uninspired and at one point, obscures a melee encounter between one character and a mutated human as it violently shakes, cuts, and whips about. Even the experienced Christopher Drake, Warner Bros.' go-to composer for their DC Comics' hit animations such as Wonder Woman (2009), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) and The Dark Knight Returns' two-parter, seems to have skipped out on delivering anything memorable for Harbinger Down's score, which feels more non-existent than lacking.

Much like his mentor's Pumpkinhead (1988), which had also starred Henriksen, Gillis' feature length directorial debut is dragged into the cold, dark depths of the Bering Sea by the supporting actors' abysmal acting, constrained budget and lackluster writing (also done by Gillis), but Harbinger Down certainly proves that practical (creature) effects in horror and science fiction most certainly isn't dead, though it definitely is a craft that is best compartmentalized to one department and utilized under the hands of an experienced director. Perhaps Harbinger Down will be Amalgamated Dynamics' calling card for Neill Blomkamp's Alien sequel?