# Dark Harvest (2023 film)
**Dark Harvest** is a 2023 American horror film directed by [David Slade](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-slade), written by Michael Gilio, and adapted from Norman Partridge's 2006 novella of the same name. Set in a Midwestern farming town in the fall of 1963, it follows a yearly [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) ritual in which the town's teenage boys hunt a pumpkin-headed creature called Sawtooth Jack in an event known as "The Run."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) MGM released it in limited theaters on October 11, 2023 and on streaming two days later.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | David Slade; screenplay by Michael Gilio, based on the 2006 novella by Norman Partridge[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) |
| Release | Limited theatrical release October 11, 2023; streaming October 13, 2023; distributed by MGM[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) |
| Runtime and rating | 1 h 36 m; rated R for strong horror violence and gore, language throughout, and brief drug use[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) |
| Setting | A Midwestern farming town in the fall of 1963, where the creature Sawtooth Jack rises from the cornfields each Halloween[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) |
| Lead cast | Casey Likes as Richie Shepard, Emyri Crutchfield as Kelly Haines, Dustin Ceithamer as Sawtooth Jack, with Jeremy Davies, Elizabeth Reaser, Luke Kirby, and Britain Dalton[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) |
| Reception | 67% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 42 reviews; Metascore 51; audience score 47%[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) • [2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-harvest/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Every Halloween, the creature Sawtooth Jack rises from the cornfields and makes his way toward the town, where gangs of eighteen-year-old boys stand ready to slaughter the murderous scarecrow before midnight.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) The boy who kills him wins an expensive car, enough money to leave the town forever, and a new house for his family; leaving town is otherwise forbidden to residents.[3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/) The Run's competitors are told that killing Sawtooth Jack guarantees another year's worth of "prize crops" for the town.[3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/)
The story centers on Richie Shepard (Casey Likes), a rebellious outcast whose football-star brother Jim (Britain Dalton) won The Run the previous year, drove off in his new Corvette, and never returned.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023) Because no one in a past winner's family is allowed to win again, Richie is barred from competing, but he sets out on Halloween night anyway, defying the town's sheriff, Jerry Ricks ([Luke Kirby](https://www.edgepedia.org/luke-kirby)), and his parents Donna ([Elizabeth Reaser](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-reaser)) and Dan ([Jeremy Davies](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-davies)).[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023) • [3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/) He teams up with Kelly Haines (Emyri Crutchfield), who wants to escape the town by any means.[5](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/dark-harvest/cast/2060186136/) As the hunt progresses, Richie discovers the ritual's dark secret and faces a choice that could break the cycle.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022)
The town's rules are delivered largely in passing: no one leaves, the boys are locked up and starved for three days before the run, and past winners' families cannot win again.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023) All decisions are made by the Harvester's Guild, which sponsors the Run each Halloween.[6](https://www.villagevoice.com/dark-harvest-children-of-the-gore/)
## Production and delayed release
Screenwriter Michael Gilio read Partridge's novella about fifteen years before the film's release and pursued the rights for over a decade; in 2018, producers Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl secured them, and Gilio committed to the adaptation in that same conversation.[7](https://bloody-flicks.co.uk/2023/10/11/exclusive-writer-talks-halloween-horror-dark-harvest/) An earlier report had New Regency acquiring the feature rights with Gilio set to write.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/regency-sets-dark-harvest-matt-162617900.html) Gilio described the adaptation as unusually difficult in the opposite direction from most: rather than distilling the book, he had to invent and broaden the story to make the mythology hold together on screen, since [Partridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/partridge) had written the book as a metaphor without strict folk-tale logic.[7](https://bloody-flicks.co.uk/2023/10/11/exclusive-writer-talks-halloween-horror-dark-harvest/)
The film's road to release was long. It was announced in 2019, and production and release were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon Studios' acquisition of MGM, a studio regime change, and two union strikes.[7](https://bloody-flicks.co.uk/2023/10/11/exclusive-writer-talks-halloween-horror-dark-harvest/) A planned September 9, 2022 release was scrapped, with the most recent scrapped date listed as September 22, 2022, before the film finally reached screens in October 2023.[9](https://standardpromotion.com/images/upload/userfiles/files/pitipob-baxev-garenukitaditov-begid-jiditasexov.pdf) It was Slade's first feature in well over a decade, after *Hard Candy* and *30 Days of Night* and television work including *Hannibal*, *American Gods*, and *Black Mirror*.[3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. The film holds a 67% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from 42 reviews, with a critics consensus that it "might have been scarier, but it wrings some stylish chills out of its intriguing premise," and a 47% audience score.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) On Metacritic it received a Metascore of 51, based on four reviews counted as mixed or average.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-harvest/critic-reviews/)
Reviewers repeatedly praised the monster's practical design and the film's style while faulting its storytelling. Digital Trends called it "an unfortunate case of missed potential," citing a plot hole-ridden screenplay and an unclear sense of logic and setting, while crediting the impressive practical design of Sawtooth Jack.[3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/) RogerEbert.com's reviewer gave it two of four stars, writing that the worldbuilding is neglected enough that events unfold with little context, though the concept and action-driven execution make it a fun watch.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023) [The Village Voice](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-village-voice) found the plotting anemic but singled out Emmy winner Luke Kirby's scenery-chewing turn as the sheriff.[6](https://www.villagevoice.com/dark-harvest-children-of-the-gore/) IGN's A.A. Dowd scored it 4/10, calling it "too silly for words," while Paste gave it 70 and Slashfilm 60.[2](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-harvest/critic-reviews/)
## Adaptation and source
The film is not based on a true story; it adapts Partridge's horror-fantasy novella *Dark Harvest*, published in 2006, in which a pumpkin-headed monster emerges from his grave each year in a small town.[10](https://thecinemaholic.com/dark-harvest-true-story/) Partridge, a two-time Bram Stoker Award winner, drew on his own experience of small-town life.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/regency-sets-dark-harvest-matt-162617900.html) • [10](https://thecinemaholic.com/dark-harvest-true-story/) Critics and commentators have compared the premise to [Shirley Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/shirley-jackson)'s short story "The Lottery," and to films such as *The Wicker Man*, *The Hunger Games*, and *The Purge*, for the way it challenges unquestioned devotion to tradition.[3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/) • [11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dark-harvest)
Sources differ on one point of setting: RogerEbert.com's review names the town Bastion, Illinois, while several other accounts describe it as an unnamed Midwestern town.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023) • [3](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/)
## Availability
After its limited theatrical run, the film became available digitally on October 13, 2023.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) It streams with a subscription on Prime Video and AMC+ and can be rented or bought on digital platforms; in the United States it is also available on Philo and AMC+ channels.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022) • [12](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/dark-harvest/wxNtWNtDXLRN3fJk2syGg5/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [Dark Harvest, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dark_harvest_2022)
2. [Dark Harvest critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-harvest/critic-reviews/)
3. [Dark Harvest review: a Halloween horror misfire, Digital Trends (Alex Welch, October 14, 2023)](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/dark-harvest-2023-movie-review/)
4. [Dark Harvest movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com (Peyton Robinson, October 13, 2023)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dark-harvest-movie-review-2023)
5. [Dark Harvest - Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/dark-harvest/cast/2060186136/)
6. ['Dark Harvest' - Children of the Gore, The Village Voice (Chuck Wilson, October 18, 2023)](https://www.villagevoice.com/dark-harvest-children-of-the-gore/)
7. [EXCLUSIVE - Writer talks Halloween horror Dark Harvest, Bloody Flicks (October 11, 2023)](https://bloody-flicks.co.uk/2023/10/11/exclusive-writer-talks-halloween-horror-dark-harvest/)
8. [New Regency Sets 'Dark Harvest' With Matt Tolmach Producing, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/regency-sets-dark-harvest-matt-162617900.html)
9. [List of horror movies coming out in 2023, Standard Promotion](https://standardpromotion.com/images/upload/userfiles/files/pitipob-baxev-garenukitaditov-begid-jiditasexov.pdf)
10. [Is Dark Harvest Based on a True Story?, The Cinemaholic](https://thecinemaholic.com/dark-harvest-true-story/)
11. [Dark Harvest - Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dark-harvest)
12. [Dark Harvest - Where to Watch, Stream, Rent, or Buy, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/dark-harvest/wxNtWNtDXLRN3fJk2syGg5/where-to-watch/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Monster and creature films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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