Strange Harvest isn’t the first mockumentary to assume a true-crime format; Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, and Lake Mungo pioneered that approach years ago. Nor is it the most insightful look into that particular mode of storytelling; the forthcoming Zodiac Killer Project is a far more intricate and illuminating investigation of the genre’s structure, stratagems, and allure.
Nonetheless, 14 years after he made a splash with the found-footage thriller Grave Encounters, writer/director Stuart Ortiz reconfirms his fondness for faux-verisimilitude with his latest, in theaters Aug. 8, whose tale about a California serial killer with supernatural intentions is filtered through a persuasive verité lens that, however skin-deep, underscores the enduring effectiveness of its non-fiction devices.
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