"Harker" (2005) - A Classic Horror Tale...with "Puppets"

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen my call for short films, which are streaming, so I can review them.  This desire for movies under 15 minutes is because in January, like the rest of the winter experiencing populace, exercise inside.  I have gone through the holiday weight gain and annual "taking stock in myself".  This inevitably leads me to blog more often for awhile and realize that my pants don't fit quite right.  So, short films, under 20 minutes or so, are the perfect companion for my exercise.  They distract me from the constant pedaling, keep me from trying to type emails on my phone while biking in place and give me something to write about here.

The thing about doing from my Facebook page is that a lot of the suggestions I got were from friends and acquaintances, such as this one.  Let me explain how my "favoritism" works in these cases.  I know Jason and Tony from back in Florida.  They're good guys and I like their work, but I want to judge it fairly.  If I didn't enjoy it at all, such as the first film I watched for these short film reviews, I would just skip the review.  That may be why you only see reviews here that are at least somewhat positive.  I am of the mind that if you don't have anything nice to say,  you don't say anything at all.  Unlike writers who do it for outside publications (here I am, gang), I currently don't have assignments given to me by other people.  I choose what to watch and what to review on my own. So, if I don't enjoy a movie, I won't review it.  Consider this blog more of a suggestive list of things I have enjoyed, at least a little bit, throughout my massive amount of movie viewing.

With the disclaimers out of the way, let us take a look at "Harker"!

At just about 14 minutes "Harker" was the perfect length for my "not too long" workout and it kept me entertained the whole time.  In fact, after finding it on Amazon and getting it started, I wound up doing an extra 3 minutes of exercise.  Always a good sign of entertainment value that I lose track of time.

The first thing adults will need to overcome with the film is that the entire cast is comprised of puppets (or marionettes if your stickler for the terminology).   This does not mean it's a kid's film, however.  The plot line and imagery are very reminiscent of Nosferatu (if you're going to emulate a vampire, what better place to start?)  The puppet designs are appropriately stark with large shocking eyes and dark features.  Billy Horne did an excellent job creating characters that look like silent film era actors in the make-up of the time.  The somewhat expressionless faces (although there are some changes at key moments here and there) help add to the creepy stillness of the castle.

The other challenge some non-hardcore film fans may face is that this is a "silent movie".  The musical score by Tom Hoehn, however, carries the mood wonderfully and keeps the viewer engaged despite the lack of recorded dialogue.

Jayme LaRosa's sets are wonderful.  They are very reminiscent of the horror movies of old and complete the silent film era feel of the movie wonderfully.

There were one or two moments that made me giggle, but in a horror movie populated strictly by puppets you wouldn't expect to be able to take things seriously the entire time.  The overall visual style is wonderfully spooky.  It is reminiscent of Tim Burton's works, not because it is derivative of his movies, but because both show influences from the same dark roots of early silent horror films.

Finally, the creature, the beast, the main antagonist in this creepy short film is wonderfully designed.  The filmmakers even manage to get a bit of gore in, which was an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Younger viewers may find the movie a bit frightening, but the nice thing about a short is that you can watch it yourself before making a decision for youngsters in your life.  It's a great initiation movie into the horror genre. 

I highly recommend this one if you can find it streaming and hardcore horror fans might even want to add it to their collection.  It's would great October viewing on a stormy night.