HARVEST is a period drama with the trappings of a folk horror and does not succeed as either. There’s no horror and the drama does not represent any particular period. It obliquely refers to the Highland Clearances without actually being embedded in the Scottish context of those events. HARVEST is an hour too long at the front and is poorly paced throughout, the characters are tediously obtuse, and the script loves to tell rather than show.
At Venice International Film Festival 2023, Luc Besson explained that Caleb Landry Jones was speaking in a Scottish accent as method acting to prepare for his HARVEST role. Someone – anyone – should have told him during this time that his Scottish accent is horrendous. It drifts as far afield as France at times. Like nails on a chalkboard.