Name: The Harbinger
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Horror
Released: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Madeleine McGraw, Irene Bedard, Teal Redmann, Steve Monroe, Kate Luyben

The opening shot of The Harbinger (2022) lingers on a misty small-town street, the kind that feels like it’s been plucked straight from a David Lynch nightmare. Director Will Klipstine sets the tone early: something is very wrong in this place, and it’s not just the eerie silence or the way the fog clings to the pavement like a shroud. This isn’t the first time Klipstine has dabbled in genre-blending thrillers—his previous work hinted at a fascination with the uncanny—but The Harbinger feels like his most ambitious effort yet, even if it doesn’t always land as effectively as he might have hoped.

Klipstine’s thriller follows the Snyder family—played by Madeleine McGraw as Rosalie, Steve Monroe as John, and Kate Luyben as Claire—as they move their troubled daughter to a town where the locals suspect her of a series of mysterious deaths. The film leans heavily into atmospheric dread, with Klipstine’s direction emphasizing isolation and paranoia. The cinematography is competent, though not groundbreaking, relying on moody lighting and tight close-ups to build tension. One standout sequence is the discovery of a body in the woods; the camera lingers just long enough to let the horror sink in before cutting away abruptly. It’s a moment that recalls the slow-burn unease of The Witch, though without that film’s meticulous craftsmanship.

The performances are the film’s strongest suit. McGraw delivers a nuanced portrayal of Rosalie, capturing both vulnerability and an underlying darkness that keeps the audience guessing. There’s a scene where she stares into the camera, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and defiance, that lingers in the mind long after it’s over. Irene Bedard as Floating Hawk adds depth with her enigmatic presence, her performance grounded in a quiet intensity that makes every word feel weighted. Vincent Duvall as Detective Tracy Hennings brings a grounded intensity to his role, though his character sometimes feels like an afterthought in the larger narrative.

Where The Harbinger stumbles is in its pacing and narrative cohesion. The film struggles to balance its thriller and horror elements, often feeling like it’s trying too hard to be both. The mystery at the heart of the story—whether Rosalie is truly responsible for the deaths or if something more sinister is at play—gets muddled in a second act that drags. Klipstine’s decision to withhold key information until the final act pays off in some respects, but it also leaves large swathes of the middle feeling directionless. The pacing issues are particularly evident in the scenes involving Teal Redmann as Dr. Emily Warren, whose character feels underdeveloped and often sidelined despite her potential to add depth to the story.

The film’s originality is its greatest asset and its biggest liability. Klipstine clearly wants to subvert expectations, but the twists and turns often feel contrived rather than earned. The genre fit is solid—it’s unmistakably a thriller with horror undertones—but it lacks the tight scripting or standout set pieces that elevate similar films like Hereditary or The Babadook. The Harbinger aims for something deeper, exploring themes of guilt, redemption, and the supernatural, but it never quite reaches the emotional resonance of those films. Instead, it feels like a collection of interesting ideas that never fully coalesce into a satisfying whole.

Klipstine’s direction is uneven, with some scenes feeling overly stylized while others rely too heavily on dialogue to carry the weight of the story. The film’s sound design is another area where it excels, using silence and sudden bursts of noise to create an unsettling atmosphere. However, the score sometimes feels at odds with the visuals, opting for a more traditional horror approach when subtlety might have been more effective.

The Harbinger is ultimately a flawed but intriguing entry in the thriller genre. It’s a film that will likely resonate more with fans of slow-burn mysteries than those looking for a straightforward scare.