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I always suspected that the road to hell involved a path through Dallas, Texas via Highway 75. I might be correct, too. After all, Dallas is where writer/director Jon Keeyes’ The Harrowing was filmed. In his latest film, Keeyes (American Nightmare) tackles madness as it relates to law enforcement. To serve and protect, right, but who are the cops serving and who are the protected? The answers, at least in The Harrowing, involve the darkly rich shadows of the supernatural.
Detective Calhoun (Matthew Tompkins in a blistering performance of paranoia) can’t win. Each and every time he turns his back, bad shit goes down. He’s already got a reputation on the force and the Lieutenant (Michael Ironside of Total Recall and Starship Troopers fame) over him has his pair of beady eyes on him. His days are numbered. Which is why, when Ryan steps out to get some coffee and phone his worried wife, we know that something strange is about to go down.
And boy does it ever!
When he returns to discover that no one is manning the recordings – of what was a lot of sighs, groans, and grunts of a woman and her VIP “John” – and the headquarters room is completely vacant, he goes into the mouth of madness itself next door and discovers one of his associates munching on the innards of the people in the room. BANG! BANG! This insanity cannot stand and yet another of his friends is laid out.
But what could cause his friend to flip like that? Ryan’s grip on reality has just been exorcised by what he fears or suspects are the demons around him. After being removed from the case, Ryan starts his own research and discovers that there is a forensic mental hospital that seems to be the connective thread between both supernaturally weird incidences. It is a place, as he is soon to discover, of unspeakable terrors where, maybe, his demons aren’t as unreal as they sound. {googleads}
It takes some convincing, but his annoyed Lieutenant agrees to send him to the suspicious psych ward at the center of the dark activity. GULP. Run by a dubious doctor (Arnold Vosloo from The Mummy), the hospital and its residents become some of Ryan’s informants as he dives head-first into the abyss that is this demon-filled maze. Both dark and twisting, this film is an intelligent and slick ride through some pretty twisted experiments.
What IS going on here will have you doubting your own reality, too. With a cast that includes The Haunting of Hill House’s Arianne Martin and Hellraiser : Judgement’s Damon Carney, The Harrowing attempts to break through genre stereotypes and put some dents in its psychological crossover appeal. Perhaps Calhoun is not so crazy after all? This holiday season, WE get to decide.
With Shutter Island as a sort of guide, The Harrowing gives us a bit more time out and about in the real world (but is it?) before locking us up in a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-like environment of medication and group meetings. We go dark fairly quick and match the explosive opening scene with more blood and more sex and a whole lot of smarts as Calhoun knocks heads with reality itself.
When all the presents are unwrapped and the eggnog properly spiked, this thought-provoking movie (and its demon) awaits you. The Harrowing is available on VOD and on Demand from Clay Epstein’s Film Mode Entertainment on December 25, 2018.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime:
Director: Jon Keeyes
Writer: Jon Keeyes
Cast: Matthew Tompkins, Arnold Vosloo, Michael Ironside
Genre: Thriller
Tagline: Fear what's inside you.
Memorable Movie Quote: "I've never seen anything like that. None of us have."
Theatrical Distributor:
Official Site:
Release Date: December 25, 2018
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: Haunted by the ritualistic killing of his best friend, a vice detective (Matthew Tompkins, Sicario) determined to discover the truth goes undercover into a forensic hospital and is plunged into his own personal hell where demons might be real.
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
No details available.
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