STRANGE HARVEST Trailer Unleashes Mr. Shiny — The New Face of Found Footage Terror

Masked menace Mr. Shiny emerges in the first trailer for Strange Harvest, in theaters August 8.

STRANGE HARVEST Invites You Into Found Footage Hell This August — Meet Mr. Shiny, Your New Obsession

If you’ve been craving a new nightmare to obsess over, look no further than Strange Harvest. Equal parts batshit bonkers and blood-soaked descent into cosmic dread, Stuart Ortiz’s (Grave Encounters) solo directorial outing is here to rattle the bones of the found footage genre—and carve out a fresh space for its masked monster, Mr. Shiny.

HMU got an early taste of Strange Harvest during last year’s Beyond Fest and Fantastic Fest, where it easily stood out as one of the wildest, most memorable found footage entries we’ve seen in years. Now, it’s finally making its way to theaters this summer, thanks to Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. Mark your calendars: Strange Harvest hits everywhere on August 8th.

The story drops us into a chaotic investigation led by a pair of detectives drawn into the twisted return of Mr. Shiny, a serial killer once thought to be a thing of urban legend. What begins as a string of grotesque murders quickly unravels into something far more unearthly—where ritual, possession, and old-school VHS paranoia blend with a larger cosmic horror looming in the margins.

As the evidence piles up (in shaky-cam glory), Strange Harvest becomes less about solving a case and more about surviving an escalating descent into otherworldly terror.

Where many found footage films fizzle out under the weight of their gimmick, Ortiz weaponizes the format. Here, handheld chaos is used with purpose: to disorient, to unsettle, and to amplify the mythic nature of Mr. Shiny—a being who feels plucked straight from Reddit’s darkest creepypasta boards and dropped into your worst sleep paralysis episode.

The film is erratic in the best way: moments of jaw-dropping insanity give way to long stretches of speculation and cryptic lore, building tension and momentum like a cult horror mixtape gone rogue.

The performances, particularly from Peter Zizzo and Christina Helene Braa, ground the madness in just enough reality to make the spirals into unreality hit even harder.

Strange Harvest is The Poughkeepsie Tapes meets Event Horizon with a healthy dash of Channel Zero and Deadstream. It’s the kind of film that spreads like wildfire—part terrifying murder mystery, part occult nightmare, part internet-age urban legend that sticks in your brain like static.

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Grave Encounters or just looking for your next conversation-starting horror watch, Strange Harvest delivers the goods—wrapped in VHS fuzz and blood-soaked VHS tape.

Don’t miss it when it hits theaters August 8th. And remember: once you see Mr. Shiny, he’s already seen you.

Starring: Peter Zizzo, Terri Apple, Andy Lauer, Matthew Peschio, Janna Cardia, Travis Wolfe Sr., Christina Helene Braa

Directed & Written by: Stuart Ortiz

In Theaters Everywhere: August 8, 2025

Distributed by: Roadside Attractions & Saban Films

Stay tuned to HMU for exclusive interviews and breakdowns as Strange Harvest inches closer to release.