Harpoon review: A peaceful day out at sea becomes a living nightmare for a trio of friends in the devilishly dark Harpoon.
Image Courtesy of Fantasia Festival
According to Aristotle there are three types of friendship – these are the friendships of utility, pleasure and good. However, these are not the versions of friendship explored in Harpoon. Jonah (Munro Chambers), Richard (Christopher Gray) and Sasha (Emily Tyra) were once friends, but now all that remains is jealousy, distrust and brewing tension. It’s a far from perfect idea then for this trio to take a trip to the middle of the ocean together.
What starts as a peacekeeping opportunity to relax quickly escalates after a fight breaks out during their voyage and their vessel loses power. As the hours and days tick by, the old friends turn on each other in the vicious way that only friends can. Can the group survive, and if they can, will there be anything left of their friendship to salvage?
Single location horror films have become one of the simplest to make on a small budget. This has meant that the last few years have seen many movies made using this model, making originality – either in location or story – a tough task. Director Rob Grant, whose previous film Fake Blood was a glorious mix of fact and fiction, manages to pull off this impossible task. We’ve seen stranded at sea before with the Open Water films, and 47 Meters Down, but none have quite the same spark that is nestled within Harpoon.
What really stands Harpoon apart from its peers is its inclusion of a narrator. This disembodied voice is the unsung hero of the piece. He serves to save our trio from the usual stuffy expositional conversations. As we meet each member, the narrator gives us the bullet points of that person’s personality type – what their history is and where they might be headed. It’s a clever technique and a much welcomed respite from the all too typical clunky forced dialogue. He also offers fun trivia facts (like the Aristotle quote) and cautionary tales, delivering it all with a know-it-all smugness. Imagine if Patrick Bateman were reading you a bedtime story and you’ll get the idea.
Another aspect that Grant utilises to great success is his choice of tone. Far too many single situation survival stories focus too much on the bleakness of the character’s plight. Everything is told in a very serious manner, and as it’s life and death, must be treated as such by the viewer. That’s not the case here though, tonally Grant let’s loose, encouraging the audience to have fun. Harpoon isn’t meant to be viewed at super-serious, but rather as an unfortunate series of events looked at through a serious amount of cynicism. Oddly, at times Harpoon was reminiscent of Wild Things. It’s no where near as over-the-top as the crime thriller, but it’s happy to poke fun at itself.
It’s not all fun and games though, Grant reigns in the dark-veined humour when he has to so things never get too gloomy. Grant reflects the rising tensions and emotions with his camera choices. As the film progresses the camerawork slowly draws in ever closer and tighter on our cast. This serves to not only heighten the tension, but to increase the claustrophobic vibes. In terms of the actual narrative, to say too much would spoil the viewing experience; what happens on the boat, stays on the boat. What I will share is that Harpoon is not the film I thought it would be when I started.
Harpoon proves that originality isn’t dead yet. Strap in for a tense fun-filled ninety minutes or so aboard a ship of mistrust, deception and intrigue. Prepare to wince and smirk in equal measure and above all heed the warnings.
Harpoon review by Kat Hughes, July 2019.
Harpoon was reviewed at Fantasia Festival 2019.
Harpoon is now available on the ARROW VIDEO CHANNEL (and also Amazon Prime and Apple TV) from 18thOctober.
