''Harbinger'' is a 2016 American eco-thriller film written and directed by Cody Duckworth, and produced by Jonathan de la Luz. It stars Dimitrius Pulido, Tina Rodriguez, Paeka Campos and Joseph T. Campos. ''Harbinger'' was among films screened at 22nd

San Antonio Film Festival The SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival, which sported a logo of a naughty-looking angel. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the SAFILM – San An ...

, 19th

Cine Las Americas International Film Festival The Cine Las Americas International Film Festival is an annual film festival based in Austin, Texas, featuring Latin American and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous films from the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula. In its 14th year in ...

and 49th WorldFest-Houston festival, where it won "Silver Remi Award".

Plot

The

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

film follows twelve-year-old girl Mira Gonzaga who has been having terrible dreams after a

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

of an undisclosed origin. Taking care of Mira and his pregnant wife, Jesús Gonzaga moves the family away from the city to a secluded

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

in the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

hill-country. Mira soon discovers that the ranch is just as far from safety. She has vivid night dreams, sees her deceased grandmother and a monster who claims to be her soon-to-be-born brother. There are several hints in the movie that these strange occurrences are taking place as a result of poisoned water from nearby fracking operations. After Mira's mother dies and Jesús tries to feed Mira poisonous wild boar meat, their neighbor Dimitri comes and saves her, chasing Jesús until giant

drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wat ...

s explode.

Cast

* Dimitrius Pulido as Jesús Gonzaga * Tina Rodriguez as Gabriella Gonzaga * Paeka Campos as Mira Gonzaga * Joseph T. Campos as Dimitri * Anne Frances as Abuela * Gerard Flores as Kitty (monster) * Roland Uribe as Doctor

Production

Harbinger was shot in

during summer 2014 between

Fischer Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher. People with the surname A * Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official * Ad ...

and

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. The prime shooting location was Rancho Mirando, a wedding venue in Fischer.

Development

''Harbinger'' is the debut feature from writer/director Cody Duckworth, who grew up around

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

ranches. Film production spanned over seven years from inception to distribution. The original script was written as a horror film while the director was still in college. After producer Jonathan de la Luz came on board the project, the script was rewritten, embracing the eco-thriller genre with fracking as the primary threat in the film.

Release

Harbinger premiered at the

on May 8, 2016. It was intended for digital distribution only. “Harbinger” was released on DVD on February 28, 2017.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 4007016
Official website
2016 films 2016 independent films American independent films Films set on farms Films set in Texas Films shot in Texas 2016 horror films American supernatural horror films American supernatural thriller films 2010s thriller films American horror thriller films Films about families American natural horror films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films