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Cast: Dylan Baker, Matthew Beard, Carla Gugino, Abbey Lee, Ciarán Hinds
Newlywed Elizabeth (Abbey Lee) arrives with her brilliant scientist husband Henry (Ciarán Hinds) to his magnificent estate, where he wows her with lavish dinners and a dazzling tour of the property. The house staff Claire (Carla Gugino) and Oliver (Matthew Beard) treat her deferentially but she can't shake the feeling something is off. Henry explains that everything in his world now belongs to her, all is for her to play in - all except for a locked-off room he forbids her from entering. When he goes away for business, Elizabeth decides to investigate.
As the film opens, we see the newly married Henry and his much younger wife Elizabeth driving up a road to the top of a hill where Henry's beautiful state of the art estate sits all by itself. They are greeted by his two servants, Claire and Oliver. Once inside the two have an intimate dinner together then Henry proceeds to show Elizabeth around her beautiful and stylish new home.
Henry is a very rich man so the home is a technical marvel equipped with thumb print keypads for each room. Henry explains to Elizabeth that everything he owns are hers, his money, art and everything else inside his home but there is one room that is off limits to her. When she asks why Henry tells her it is where he does his work and he makes her promise not to ever enter the room which she could easily do because all the keypads are programmed to accept her thumb print as well but she says she will obey his wishes.
That evening while in bed Henry tells Elizabeth that he has to go away the next morning but he will only be gone for a day. Before blowing out the candles he asks her again if she is going to behave and of course she says yes. But while he is gone Elizabeth cannot resist the temptation and she enters the room. What she finds shocks her so she runs out of the room but what she doesn't know is that by entering the forbidden room everything will change forever.
It only takes 20 minutes for the audience to witness the film's first major revelation and twist. It makes you sit back and wonder what could possibly happen for the next hour and 20 minutes that are left but I can tell you a lot happens in that time. A lot of critics have compared the film to "Ex Machina" and while there is some plot similarities make no mistake it is its own film and Writer/Director, Sebastian Gutierrez has made sure of that by giving us a Sci-Fi/Thriller that has lots of style and characters that grow as the film moves along. It definitely brings its own ideas to the table and it has a style all its own.
I am not going to go into what happens in the film and what Elizabeth found when entering the room because I do not want to spoil the film for anyone who is interested in seeing the movie. But I will say that even after its very early reveal the film still remains engaging all the way to the end and it even tosses in a few more twists as it nears the end as well.
I liked the way the director gave the four main characters their own time to develop and the actors their own time to shine. Ciarán Hinds is amazing as the obsessed scientist and Abbey Lee is just as terrific as Elizabeth. The character she plays is not as complex as the character of Henry. Elizabeth is a simple girl, a bit naive and innocent but Lee gets to flesh out the character more as the film moves along. Carla Gugino plays Claire whom we take as a servant in the home but we find out later she is much more than that and she too has motives of her own. Gugino is a fantastic actress and she shines in the film. Matthew Beard plays Oliver the other servant but he also happens to be blind as well. He does a great job playing the role and giving his character a little mystery. And last but not least Dylan Baker plays detective, Logan who visits Henry on occasion. He seems to be Henry's only friend but we learn more about their relationship as the film moves along as well.
'Elizabeth Harvest' is not without its flaws, it perhaps could have used some editing in order to shorten its run time a little but at the same time it never loses any momentum and I did like that Director, Sebastian Gutierrez took his time to flesh out the characters and that he gave us such a complex story line that makes the audience think. The film certainly kept me tuned in the entire time with its ever changing story and it atmosphere and mood. 'Elizabeth Harvest' is a well done stylish Sci-Fi that is sure to please all fans of horror as well. The film will be in Theaters and On Demand 8/10/18 so be sure to check it out.
Released by IFC Films
*** 3/4 Out Of *****