Customer Reviews

The Harvest

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of Miguel Ferrer's best roles, the movie is stunted only by the lack of supporting cast. The basic storyline is based upon an urban myth regarding the theft of body organs. Miguel is snared by a siren who in real life shares his last name (was this his wife in real life?), who is so appealing it is worth the price of the movie just to watch her. The escape scene near the end in the Volkswagon merits replay. The movie lacks a secondary plot, as Ferrer's torment as a failing playright suffers some tedium, but is redeemed in the credits. The Hitchcock influences are strong, with many single camera scenes, and tempo is well paced. One more strong character and this would have been a hit.

A screenwriter travels to Central America to overcome a writer's block. He stumbles across a black market trading in human organs. As he probes deeper troubles begin to find him (this is not Romancing the Stone). While not normally perceived as a lead, Miguel Ferrer is excellent in this role. If you enjoy movies with several twists and a plot that baffles, sit back and enjoy this fast paced movie. All will be clear by the end.

"The Harvest" is one of those movies that's so bad it's really good, a guilty pleasure, assuming you have an appreciation for middle of the night masterpieces on cable TV, and the kinds of things you might have gone to a drive in to see once upon a time. It really is a bit camp, and also just plain trashy and sincerely so. There are a number of fascinating trivia items. First of which is the house which Miguel Ferrer visits in Mexico is the "hotel" set built for the filming of "The Night Of The Iguana". Second, George Clooney appears briefly as a transvestite go-go dancer, in a cage, in a Mexican nightclub scene. Why? Miguel Ferrer is George Clooney's cousin, and he evidently did it as a goof for his cousin, back before Clooney had become "the sexiest man alive".

twists and turn abound in this mystery, I found the acting, the scenery, and the plot very fascinating, Miguel Ferrer has a big screen prescence that should be used more in movies and less on tv. i recommend highly

Is the film over at the end? The twists and turns, and is that what really happened makes this a film to watch again.

i thought this was a decent little movie.it's about a writer who is sent
to Mexico for inspiration,to wrote the next big story,which will
hopefully be made into a movie.while in Mexico,he stumbles upon what he
believes is a black market ring for human organs.i didn't find this
movie overly exciting,but it did keep my interest.some of the scenes
stretch into implausibility and are not realistic.it's also pretty
predictable for the most part,if you're paying attention.the other
thing is,the movie is pretty low key.it's mot what i would call action
packed or exciting.still,it was an enjoyable diversion and I've sen
worse.for me,The Harvest is a 3/5

He may be a writer, but he can't play the organ...LOL! This is a nice little thriller centered around actor Miguel Ferrer who loses an organ and tries desperately to keep the other one. Though the theme is a little far-fetched, Miguel and heart-throb Leilani Sarelle Ferrer turn in quality acting performances...and a steamy relationship. The cover of the DVD box implies it may be a horror film...not so. It's just a quaint drama for adults. Miguel reminds me so much of Jack Webb of TV's "Dragnet" fame in the 50's. He rarely smiles...and has a cold demeanor.

leilani sarellle is great in this film. too bad she has retired from the screen. does anyone know what shes doing or will she return to movies?

THE HARVEST (1993), is the stereotypical ABC / CBS / NBC Sunday night
movie, that feels like a less filling beer vs. the real thing.

Being a typical TV network evening movie, it has the typical murder,
occasional shooting, thrill moments intertwined with a mystery and
action thrown in for good measure, and of course, the plat de
resistence, the upper bodily nudity of the Sharon Stone lookalike,
Leilani Sarelle who brings up the popular, indispensable libido,
erotic element to attract the younger audiences.

Much of the featherweight category of HARVEST can be tracked to the
choice of the leading actor, Miguel Ferrer, for the simple reason
that consistently, the sequences seem totally unrealistic. His
character every single time wins the upper hand in man-to-man
combats, at perhaps 140 lbs, cuts the neck of an agressor, puts a
sword through one, or even, seduces the supporting actor, played by
Sarelle in a bar, that wouldn't seem typical of either actors.

Annoyingly, the story tells of the lead character being a book
author, working on a story, all the while having had his kidney
stolen from his own body. This aspect is made worse by later
intermixing fantasy and facts, confusing the audience. Despite
victimized, the operated patient manages to escape from his captors
operating room on a pier, at a tropical Mexican tourist resort,
although debilitated. It also isn't explained why Ferrer doesn't call
the police to revisit where the organ theft occurred.

If this already made no sense, the movie then has Ferrer tracking
down Sarelle, who from all appearances had been part of the
house-of-mirrors set up, that got him mugged and lose his kidney.
Instead of seeking justice or vindication, he comes back for seconds.
A clean bed, home is offered to Ferrer by Sarelle, and they hit it
off, despite the foot-long scar on his back.

From a cinematographical viewpoint, there's a TV format, with clean
editing, and the occasional interesting audio, that for the most
part, can best be categorized as mediocre, TV-fare.

There's also a boorish, redundant UFO, secret projects, conspiracies,
and political commentary made by one of Ferrer's friends, suffering
from delusions of grandeur and self-importance that clearly should
have been edited out.

A more serious suggestion, is the existance of an international
network of organ harvesting members, involving medical doctors on the
take, nurses, small time prostitutes ready to take part in the score,
from which the marks lose their organs, all eager to make a few bucks
on the side, including those under oath to law enforcement. Those
looking for real info, I would suggest [...]

The final 60 seconds revelation, although amusing for some, takes the
cake as ridiculous.

Two things stand out about this film.

First, the actress who played Roxy in "Basic Instinct" is the femme fatale in this film. This film came out one year after "BI." Here Sarrelle (Roxy) talks, moves, and acts like Sharon Stone in "BI." She dances with Miguel Ferrer in a gay club just like Stone did with Michael Douglas. She ties up Ferrer's hands with a belt like Stone did to Douglas with a white scarf in "BI." She says, "I like the rain." ironically just like Stone's Catherine Tremell said, "I like rough edges." in "BI." It's sad that an actress is getting type-casted so terribly.

Secondly, every male character has a hairy chesty, and I mean Alec Baldwin-hairy. Yes, most of this film takes place in Mexico where it's so hot that men may keep their shirts unbuttoned. Still, even characters not in Mexico, like Harvey Fierstein, are hirsute and flaunting it. The casting director or film director must have a thing for hairy guys. That's totally understandable; but in the real world not every man has a hairy chest, so this surely was not art imitating life.