HARBINGER DOWN (2015) starring Lance Henriksen

Inspired by Universal’s decision to ditch StudioADI’s practical effects work on the 2011 prequel to THE THING, HARBINGER DOWN can pretty much be summed up as THE THING MEETS DEADLIEST CATCH, which was what I was hoping for going in.

Sadie and Ronelle are grad students on an expedition to study climate change and its impact on whales. Along with their professor, Stephen, the pair ventures out on Harbinger, a fishing boat run by Sadie’s crusty pop-pop, Graff (national treasure Lance Henriksen) and his multinational crew. While attempting to capture whale sounds or something, Sadie and the crew manage to retrieve a Russian lunar lander that crashed in the frigid waters back on June 25, 1982 (a tip of the cap to John Carpenter’s classic THE THING).

Upon inspection, the students deduce that the Soviet cosmonaut on board died of an unknown infection, possibly due to the mutant tardigrades that were carried back to Earth and are now infecting various passengers. Eventually, they discover that not everyone is as they seem, and the survivors must locate a series of explosives intended to sink the ship.

HARBINGER DOWN was funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign begun by writer/director Alec Gillis. After discovering that his practical effects for THE THING (2011) had been replaced by CGI, Gillis was encouraged by the response to online videos that showcased what he’d done for that film as well as other creature effects (check out his filmography for his extensive list of credits).

While it’s not going to make you forget seminal genre classics like ALIEN or the aforementioned THE THING, HARBINGER DOWN is a fun, fast-paced creature feature I didn’t regret seeking out. — Dan Taylor