Based partially on Norman Partridge’s 2006 novel of the same name, Dark Harvest is a 2023 American fantasy horror film directed by David Slade and written by Michael Gilio. Dustin Ceithamer, Elizabeth Reaser, Jeremy Davies, E’myri Crutchfield, and Casey Likes are among its cast members.

On October 11, 2023, Dark Harvest made its theatrical debut only in a few Alamo Drafthouse Cinema cinemas for a single day. On October 13, it was made available online.

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A tiny rural town’s adolescent lads compete in the annual Halloween “Run” in 1962, where they have to prevent Sawtooth Jack, a terrible supernatural entity, from getting to the church before midnight. Jim Shepard wins $25,000 and a new Chevrolet Corvette from the Harvesters Guild this year after killing the beast and leading the lads in a feast of its sugary innards. Jim bids his younger brother Richie farewell and heads out to start a new life while the village cheers.

Officer Ricks gives the boys a lesson about the Run a year later; Richie is the only one who is spared because his family has already won. Despite his parents’ efforts to talk him out of it, Richie is adamant on participating in the Run and flirts with Kelly, a newcomer to town. Richie gets harassed by postcards and a letter from Jim after being beaten up by his bullying classmate Riley, who also takes his belt. Ricks stops him when he attempts to flee town in a stolen vehicle.

In the meantime, a farmer sews sweets into the torso of an emaciated corpse to create Sawtooth Jack, a scarecrow with a carved pumpkin for a head. The town’s boys are traditionally confined to their dormitories and famished for three days before being released on Halloween and taking to the streets brandishing masks and homemade weapons. Chasing Sawtooth Jack into a cornfield, Richie slips out to join the Run with his companions Mitch, Bud, and Charlie. Charlie and Mitch are killed by the beast, but Richie appears to get away.