![]() The pic certainly looks gorgeous, and not only because the beautiful lead actresses are photographed with the sort of loving attention once routinely provided by Hollywood films. ![]() The confusing time-shifting chronology doesn’t help matters, while the filmmaker’s attempts to enliven the spooky proceedings via such devices as split-screen during a pivotal sequence only calls more attention to the narrative deficiencies. That is unless you consider it imaginative for a principal character to be locked in a room and forced to read a journal that reveals all. Most of the film’s second half is consumed by plodding exposition that is not exactly handled in imaginative fashion. The main problem is that the storyline becomes so convoluted that it doesn’t live up to the intriguing setup. Suffice it to say that the punning title provides a clue. To reveal the violent and fantastical events that occur afterward would be too much of a spoiler. Unfortunately, the film goes downhill from the moment that fateful door is opened. Add the inquisitive detective engagingly played by Dylan Baker and you’ve got the makings for real suspense. ![]() ![]() The characters prove instantly memorable, from the mysterious Henry (Ciaran Hinds), who’s clearly besotted with his new bride to the tall, lissome Elizabeth (Abbey Lee), who takes everything in with an air of weary resignation to the servants (Matthew Beard, Carla Gugino), who show little outward emotion but seem to be churning inside. The writer-director establishes an atmosphere of foreboding with an arresting visual style. A modern-day riff on the Bluebeard story displaying influences ranging from Rebecca to Italian giallo to Brian DePalma, Elizabeth Harvest begins promisingly. ![]()
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