Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘The Harbinger’ Does A Lot With A Little

FANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘The Harbinger’ Does A Lot With A Little

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez07/20/20223 Mins ReadUpdated:12/10/2022
The Harbinger - But Why Tho (1)
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

The Harbinger - But Why Tho (1)

Movies about the COVID-19 pandemic have been all over the place. And when it comes to horror and thrillers you have the epic lows of Songbird, and the tangential highs of KIMI. So when I saw that the pandemic horror film, The Harbinger, would be playing at Fantasia International Film Festival 2022, I was excited to see where it would land.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Directed and written by Andy Mitton, The Harbinger is a supernatural horror story that grounds itself on the fears we all experienced at the beginning of the pandemic, exacerbated by isolation, there is a connective thread between something we’ve lived, and something clearly fiction that works.

In The Harbinger, Monique (Gabby Beans) has been quarantined with her father and brother away from New York City. In a bubble they’ve worked hard to maintain, the family is protected and taking every precaution to stay that way. One day, her oldest friend, Mavis (Emily Davis), reaches out in a panic, claiming a life or death situation. Tormented by dreams so intense that she’s unable to wake, sleeping through alarms, and sometimes lying trapped in a nightmare state for days, Mavis is more than just haunted by her nightmares, they torture her.

Against the wishes of her family, Monique drives to New York City to visit Mavis at her Queens apartment. Excited to be reunited with her friend, and to see someone who isn’t her family for the first time since it all started, Monique soon discovers that the dreams haunting her friend are contagious, and so is the monster that visits her. Attracted to cities through dark energies brought out by the pandemic, the titular monster visits its victims wearing a plague mask, threatening to erase them from the world.

A blend of intimate storytelling through trauma and creepypasta, The Harbinger packs one hell of a punch. For the first half of the film, we see COVID anxiety that slowly builds until the real focus of the film, the nightmares, comes over it. The film’s strength is Mitton’s ability to pull the rug out from under you completely.

Scenes are crafted like reality only to be shattered. Moments that feel too odd to be real, are. In the film’s final act we enter a terrifying descent through nightmares that push Monique to confront her past and fight for her present. She’s thrown around through her trauma and forced to process it. Beans is phenomenal as Monique. She’s emotive and vulnerable, and captivatingly so. Beans pushes the film further and farther.

The Harbinger manages to accomplish a lot with little. An intimate horror story that uses the time-tested trope of an idea spreading like a virus, The Harbinger succeeds, even with odd pacing choices in the film’s finale.

The Harbinger screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

The Harbinger
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

The Harbinger manages to accomplish a lot with a little. An intimate horror story that uses the time-tested trope of an idea spreading like a virus, The Harbinger succeeds, even with odd pacing choices in the film’s finale.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleFANTASIA FEST 2022: ‘Chun Tae-Il: The Flame that Lives On’ is a Piece of History
Next Article ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Golden Rage,’ Issue #1
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4 Alcatraz
9.0
PS5

REVIEW: ‘Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4’ Gives Old Games New Life

By Kyle Foley07/07/2025

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 is another example of how to breathe new life into a classic without losing touch of what makes the originals great.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here