‘Dark Harvest’ Trailer Tells Halloween 1963 Legend of Sawtooth Jack
The official trailer for MGM’s feature film adaptation of Norman Partridge’s Halloween horror novel Dark Harvest has arrived at long last, introducing the legend of Sawtooth Jack and promising to deliver all the October chills we have been hoping for since this project was first announced was back in 2019.
The trailer opens with retro voice over saying, “It’s Halloween. You know what that means. Ole’ Sawtooth Jack is gonna rise from the cornfields…”
We also now have an updated official synopsis:  In a cursed town, the annual harvest becomes a brutal battle for survival. On Halloween 1963, Sawtooth Jack, a terrifying legend, rises from the cornfields, threatening the town’s children. Groups of boys unite to defeat the murderous scarecrow before midnight. Richie, a rebellious outcast, joins the run, motivated by his brother’s previous victory. As the hunt progresses, Richie makes a shocking discovery and faces a pivotal choice to break the relentless cycle.
Casey Likes (The Birch) and E’myri Crutchfield (Fargo) star in the film, along with Dustin Ceithamer (Obi-Wan Kenobi, The New Mutants) as the film’s wicked practical creature, Sawtooth Jack. The cast also includes Jeremy Davies (Lost, The Black Phone), Elizabeth Reaser (The Haunting of Hills House, The Handmaid’s Tale), and Luke Kirby (Halloween: Resurrection, No Man of God)
Special effects makeup artist Vincent Van Dyke (Halloween 2018, Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends) served as prosthetic creature effects designer for the film, and Gary J. Tunnicliffe (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Halloween: Resurrection, Hellraiser films) worked as makeup artist for Sawtooth Jack.
David Slade (30 Days of Night, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) directed the movie adaptation of Norman Partridge’s 2006 novel from a script by Michael Gilio (Dungeons & Dragons). Matt Tolmach and David Manpearl are producers through Matt Tolmach Productions.
The MPA had previously rated Dark Harvest R for “strong horror violence and gore, language throughout, and brief drug use”.
The book is set during Halloween of 1963 in a small Midwestern town where teenage boys eagerly square off with the butcher knife wielding October Boy, aka Ol’ Hacksaw Face aka Sawtooth Jack. Both the hunter and the hunted, the October Boy is the prize in an annual rite of life and death. One teen, Pete McCormick, knows that killing the October Boy is his one chance to escape a dead-end future in the one-horse town. But before the night is over, Pete will look into the saw-toothed face of horror – and discover the terrifying true secret of the October Boy.
After a number of release date shifts, we are beyond excited to report that we can finally watch this new Halloween horror movie this coming Friday the 13th.
Dark Harvest will play for one night only at Alamo Drafthouse Theaters October 11, and will then be released on Digital streaming platforms on Friday, October 13.
You can watch the official trailer and see the new poster below.
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