Opening in theaters on August 8, 2025, Strange Harvest marks a new nightmare from writer-director Stuart Ortiz, a genre voice known for finding horror in the fractures of reality.
The film plunges us into the path of detectives thrust into a chilling manhunt for Mr. Shiny — a sadistic serial killer from the past whose return sparks a new wave of crimes that are grotesque, otherworldly, and impossible to explain. As the investigation deepens, the detectives begin to uncover a disturbing connection between Mr. Shiny’s reappearance and a dark, cosmic force.
Ortiz doesn’t lean on jump scares or high-gloss horror gimmicks. Instead, Strange Harvest builds its dread with a slow, creeping unease — fusing true crime grit with unsettling glimpses of the unreal.
With a cast that includes Peter Zizzo, Terri Apple, Andy Lauer, Matthew Peschio, Janna Cardia, Travis Wolfe Sr., Jessee Clarkson, and Christina Helene Braa, the film promises shocks and intensity on every front.
To celebrate the film’s release, CinemaChords’ Ashley Northey sat down with director/writer Stuart Ortiz and actor Jessee Clarkson to dig into the haunted roots of Strange Harvest — a descent into serial horror, cosmic dread, and the terrifying possibility that nothing is ever truly gone.
