We talked about Crypticon, and the Aliens cast "reunion". I also mentioned the screening of cast member, Alec Gillis' film, Harbinger Down. Here's some thoughts.Harbinger Down is about a group of college students on board a crab boat in the Bering Sea, who discover the wreckage from a Soviet space craft, that had remained dormant and frozen for decades. They make the mistake of bringing it on board only to awaken a hungry alien organism, then all hell breaks loose.
My favorite aspect of this movie is the fact that SFX creator Alec Gillis, wrote, directed, and used ALL practical FX throughout. Alec Gillis really gives a nod to the great 80's practical monsters especially the Alien and Predator films, of which he worked on with his company Almagamated Dynamics Inc or ADI (Starship Troopers, Alien 3, Jumanji).
Harbinger Down's "monster" was very reminiscent of the creature in the original Alien film for the fact that we don't see the complete creature until late in the film. I say that with the best intent. We're basically teased bits and pieces of the creature, which really added to the suspense. It was definitely a throwback for me, remembering how much scarier the creature was in the original Alien film, due to the mystery of not really seeing it.
Other than the always wonderful Lance Henriksen, I wasn't familiar with any of the other cast members, which had no negative effect on Harbinger Down. I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Camille Balsamo (Sadie) and Winston James Francis (Big G), so if you encounter them, send my praise!
This film was made on a low budget, and partially crowd funded, but thanks to Alec Gillis' wizardry with FX a wonderful directorial debut, we have a fun movie that I will undoubtedly watch again and suggest to not only fans of the Alien franchise, but a suspenseful, SFX filled (and sometimes funny) ride! Check out the trailer...
For more info on the film: www.facebook.com/HarbingerDownOfficial
Harbinger Down is available on Netflix and Amazon, so give it a shot!
Steve Strout is the media mastermind (haha) behind this site, host of the Comic Book Swap Meet, nerd, terrible artist, gamer, convention goer and comic book reader who spends more time rescuing toys from thrift shops than a normal adult should. He is also known around the northwest for his promotion of live music and stand-up comedy events and is the creator/producer of the Comic Book Swap Meet mini convention, and Olympic Peninsula Comedy Competition (which will make it's big return in 2015). Follow him on Instagram at http://instagram.com/thestevestrout, and He can be reached for comments at ptcomedy@yahoo.com on twitter at @thestevestrout
