Strange Harvest
Short description
Presented as a true-crime documentary, this film follows detectives Joe Kirby and Lexi Taylor as they hunt a sadistic serial killer known as Mr. Shiny. After a macabre discovery in San Bernardino involving a family of three, the investigators realize a murderer from fifteen years prior has returned. The crimes are characterized by grotesque rituals and otherworldly elements that appear to be linked to a dark cosmic force. The plot tracks the pursuit of this killer across Southern California over nearly two decades.
The movie was written and directed by Stuart Ortiz, who also served as a producer alongside Bruce Guido and Alex Yesilcimen. This is the second film directed by Ortiz, following his 2011 work Grave Encounters. The cast is led by Peter Zizzo and Terri Apple, supported by Andrew Lauer, Matthew Peschio, Allen Marsh, and Roy Abramsohn, with 34 credited performers in total.
The production was a collaboration between Adorable Damage and Pathogen Pictures in the United States. Since its release on August 8, 2025, the film has received generally positive feedback. It holds a rating of 6.3/10 on IMDb from 5,400 votes and a 6.7/10 on TMDB based on 83 votes. Film critics gave the movie a higher score of 7.5/10 from 52 reviews, indicating a more favorable reception from professional reviewers than from the general audience.
What's left behind the scenes
- Peter Zizzo, who played the lead role, prepared for his part as Detective Joe Kirby by endlessly rewatching various episodes of the series "hunting for killers: Lieutenant Joe Kenda" (2011-2020). He did so at the request of Stuart Ortiz, who was determined to achieve a high degree of authenticity and realism.
- The storage facility used by the serial killer is called 'UR SELF STORAGE.' This is a reference to Jonathan Demme's thriller 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1990), where the character played by Anthony Hopkins directs Jodie Foster's character to a storage facility called 'YOUR-SELF STORAGE'.
- For the filming of the interview segments featuring characters played by Peter Zizzo and Terry Apple, director, screenwriter, and producer Stuart Ortiz used a massive warehouse. The walls were not soundproof, so filming had to be interrupted repeatedly, and many takes were required due to outside noise.
- Director, screenwriter, and producer Stuart Ortiz confirmed that the version of the film screened at festivals in 2024—including "Fantastic Fest" (an international genre film festival held annually in Texas, USA) and "Grimmfest" (an international horror and fantasy film festival held annually in Manchester, UK)—contained approximately 30 seconds of AI-generated footage. The audience did not react positively to these scenes, so they were replaced with photographs and traditional visual effects. Subsequently, in August 2025, the film was released in theaters and became available via VOD (video on demand).
- For the interview segments, Peter Zizzo and Terry Apple, who played the detectives, recorded nearly 80 pages of dialogue.
- The video file sent by Albert Shiny, played by Jesse J. Clarkson, is titled 'deathawaits.' This is a reference to Sasha Parker (played by Ashley Gryzko) from the 2010 horror film 'Grave Encounters' (Colin Minihan, Stuart Ortiz, and the Vicious Brothers, who also served as writers). It is worth noting that Ortiz often inserts such 'easter eggs' into his films, which serve as a factor linking cinematic universes.
- One of the teenage victims mentions the cosmetics brand Adorable Damage. This is a reference to the real-life production company Adorable Damage, which produced this project alongside Saban Films and Pathogen Pictures.
- To ensure the authenticity of the archival footage, the filmmakers used cameras and equipment utilized by their predecessors in the 1990s and 2000s, rather than relying solely on digital technology.
- The serial killer was played by artist Jesse J. Clarkson, who also designed the character's three-hole mask.
- Stuart Ortiz conceived the film's "mockumentary" (pseudo-documentary) concept while observing the cultural phenomenon of the "Tiger King: Murder, Chaos and Madness" project (2020-), hoping to replicate the immersiveness of modern true crime media projects.
- Director, screenwriter, and producer Stuart Ortiz developed an extensive "mythology" for the film in the hope that it would serve as the foundation for a potential cinematic universe centered around the serial killer Mr. Shiny.
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