Harpoon is a 2019 Canadian dark comedy horror film about three friends who need to set aside their differences to survive being stranded when the yacht breaks down in the middle of the ocean.
From Fantasia Festival 2019: Harpoon starts as a fairly dark comedy, with a snarky narrator (Brett Gelman) telling of a young man named Jonah (Munro Chambers), who recently lost his parents and needs to clean out their place. His best friend Richard (Christopher Gray) then drops by and beats him up, suspecting that his girlfriend Sasha (Emily Tyra) and Jonah have hooked up. After realizing it was all a mix-up, which involves a harpoon, he makes it up to him by inviting them all out to sea on his yacht. As issues continue arise between them, the yacht then breaks down, leaving them stranded in the middle of the water with few useful things to keep them alive, just their confessions and more secrets to let loose.
Mostly set on the yacht and in the water, Harpoon opens at Jonah’s home but makes its shift quickly to the sea. Shot in Belize, with breathtaking shots of the yacht from overhead, we get a genuine sense of isolation. This creates a strange sense of claustrophobia in a place seemingly open in all directions. That leaves it to the characters in keeping the tension rolling with the waves, made all the more interesting by Gelman’s good work keeping the story going while balancing the drama with some humor. It’s a risky choice but ends up a smart once, the film wickedly dark but always fun.
As more and more about these few characters come into the light, the worse it gets on the yacht, turning into a game of trust, making us wonder when the next thing will come along in turning the tables again. It’s deliberately over the top, but that helps justify some of the overacting. Fact is, while all three are good, its Jonah and Sasha that feel the most fleshed out, the story putting some focus on their pasts mishaps and emotional hardships. Meanwhile, Richard is less complex and not all that well realized.
Either way, Harpoon has its problems. There are a few major leaps we must make, especially when dealing with a survival tale based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. Common sense gets tossed out the window in accepting what gets on screen. However, the playful tone is on point from the start, contrasting with the earned tension for some good-natured humor. It’s not for the squeamish though since it does have a decent amount of blood and violence. The title Harpoon is really probably just a metaphor or the start of things breaking down for their situation. Bottomline, Harpoon might be easily looked over due to a well-executed and sharp script. Whether it’s the single location setting, the characters and its blend of dark comedy and horror suspense elements, this movie is worth a look.