MovieChat Forums > The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978) Discussion > IMDB Has Wrong Description

IMDB Has Wrong Description

posted 18 years ago by torgo7
26 replies | jump to latest

I have loved this mini-series (and the novel) ever since I saw it when it came out on the TV. However, it upsets me that the description of it on this website states "devil worship, Satan etc". That is NOT what the film is about at all.

As those of us who have seen it know, it is about the ancient cult of Demeter with references to even earlier pagan Earth Mother rituals. It seems that anything which does not involve Christianity seems to be automatically associated in the popular mind with the devil, Satan or whatever label one wishes to use.

There were and probably still are many pagan cults which honor the Earth and realize that human life, indeed all life, is dependent upon her (or it). Villifying these harmless beliefs seems to be a knee jerk response to any non-Christian belief system.

Where the description gets cannibalism in reference to this movie is beyond me, unless I missed something. The idea of sacrificing a human to ensure a bountiful future runs across numerous continents, religions and time. Is it evil? That depends on one's point of view, especially if the human chosen to be sacrificed does so willingly. Christianity is but a sanitized version of this.

Just had to get it out of my system. I wish whoever writes the taglines for IMDB would re-do the description to more properly reflect the particular cult in this most interesting mini-series. The late Betty Davis truly shines in this production. This amazing woman kept working as long as she physically could and never lost her acting ability with age.

And that's my rant of the day!

[–] ericcu1 18 years ago

thanks :)

[–] Good2Go 18 years ago

I remember this movie. yeah, it was pretty much Satanic.

[–] lesmovies 18 years ago

No, not satanic. The men in the combe, or village, are not needed really. What the secret society of women believe in is mother earth, with Bette Davis representing "mother". She seems to be everywhere! This is where the supernatural comes in, but not satanic. All the rest is carried out by the townsfolk, even w/the corn maiden and corn king. Now, mind you it's a warped movie, but that's about it. Very interesting and entertaining and makes you wonder when you travel too far from the beaten track....you'll never know what you're going to find.

[–] Good2Go 18 years ago

Yeah, still pretty much Satanic.

[–] gayspiritwarrior 18 years ago

You're pretty insistent that this being "Satanic." Why don't you tell us why you think so? Does anyone in the movie even mention Satan?

"The value of an idea has nothing to do with the honesty of the man expressing it."--Oscar Wilde

[–] skydvr38 18 years ago

not satanic, but a sense of evil abounds...creepy and effective. I throughly wish to see this again,I was blown away as a child

[–] Bel_Zedar 15 years ago

Do yourself a favor and forget you ever heard the word Satanic. When you get hung up on that, you totally miss the uniquely sinister nature of this story - secret cults of ruthless and merciless women holding their men in thrall.

"What no man knows or woman tells"

Is there a man on the planet that doesn't suspect the women have an agenda they ain't telling us about?

[–] inko8 13 years ago

BWA-HA-HA!

yup. that's why the u.s. has had 44 female presidents in a row-- the secret cabal of cross-dressing women, many of them quite ugly, to sell the ruse..

oh no! i may have said too much-- there's a knock at the door....

whew! it was only pizza-- but you can never be paranoid enough, so watch your back!

"Ugh! I don't like this." --Ambrose Bierce

[–] valarty 18 years ago

I really liked this movie but could not recall the title and I thought Ed begley Jr was in it as a young man. But I do remember it not being satanic, but more to produce a great harvest. I am looking forward to Wicker man, another pagen ritual film I hope. Any ideas on how I might be able to view Harvest home again?

[–] nightwingwhitehead 18 years ago

Don't waste your money on the latest release of "Wicker Man"! Instead, rent, buy, do what you have to, to get a copy of the *original* one, the one with Christopher Lee and Ed Woodward. It is in the same genre as "Harvest Home", with the same tight plot twists and subtle building of "wait, let me think about this" type of fearful suspense.

[–] the lioness 17 years ago

The answer to your question is yes, The Wicker Man, is also about a pagan worshiping cult. How it differs from this film is the believers live on an island called Summersaile, off the coast of Scotland. If you do see this film, see the original and not waste your time with the remake starring Nick Cage. I've seen both versions and like the original better with Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. Oh, not to give anything away but watch out for that ending. As much as I've seen the original, I never cease to be shocked as to how it ends.

[–] Molly-31 18 years ago

You're allowed to make corrections... if there are errors to this description, you can fix them.

[–] lustus 18 years ago

Any news on a DVD -- I do anything for a copy of this uncut.
[email protected]

[–] hokiejane 18 years ago

I read a review on Amazon by someone who was so mad about the cut version that s/he wrote the studio and complained. Their response was that one of the actors (the daughter's boyfriend in the movie) wouldn't sign-off on something, so they had to cut him completely out. I haven't seen the movie in decades so I don't remember exactly who he was.

[–] maxeyleaanne 17 years ago

The daughter's boyfriend is played by Michael O'Keefe from Caddyshack, also Bonnie Raitt's ex-husband, I bought the VHS off Ebay and the missing parts are the ones with him.

[–] Rozz 18 years ago

I agree 100% that there is no "Satanism" even remotely implied in this story. Around this time in 1974 my 10th-grade English teacher loaned me he copy of the novel _Harvest Home_ by Tom Tryon on which this telemovie is based. She said it was not something she would let just any student read, but I was a "special case". I thought the novel was great and when i learned that they were making a movie based on it a few years later i couldn't wait. Of course the movie was a bit of a disppointment because being on TV it couldn't depict certain scenes that were graphically described in the book, but it was still pretty good. I think about around this time every year at the anniversary of when I first read the book, and this year it occurred to me to check IMDb for anything about the movie. I'm happy to see it is still attracting interest after all these years. If you want to read a really good book (especially for this time of year: late Oct/early Nov around Halloween, etc) you can get used copies of it for less than $2+shipping through Amazon.

[–] OlYankee 18 years ago

Exactly right, torgo7.

When I read that capsule I thought, "What movie are they describing?" It's not applicable to "Harvest Home".

BTW, as a Connecticut native, you should know that Tryon wasn't too off the mark re some of the rituals of the agricultural sectors of the land back in the 70s. I know from experience that there was still some strange stuff going on in some of the more remote hollows.

For instance read up on or Google "Dark Entry" or "Dudleytown" as tied into Connecticut.

[–] hallowedgrnd 16 years ago

The Dark Secret of Harvest Home: Synopsis

This vapid television production is based on Thomas Tryon's complex and suspenseful occult thriller Harvest Home, delving into the forbidden rituals of the small New England township Cornwall Combe, whose residents offer annual human sacrifices to pagan gods in return for a bountiful corn harvest. The production is notable mainly for the participation of Bette Davis, who hams it up royally as the powerful Widow Fortune, the town's leading practitioner of the black arts, and a very young Rosanna Arquette as one of the new kids in town.

Originally an overinflated miniseries, this film is available on video mainly in a drastically cut version that makes almost no sense at all.

~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

[–] amazon423 14 years ago

Definitely pagan and the book was way better in understanding and explaining the beliefs and practices in the town. Bette Davis was perfect in her role.

[–] dragongrrrllll 14 years ago

Right, it's not Satanic at all--it was about a village stuck on an old and creepy earth-worship ritual for ensuring a good harvest. They worshipped the earth, not Satan. IMDB uses tags they think will attract interest, so they may have used the inaccurate tags because they felt viewers interested in Satanism or cannibalism would also be interested in this film.

The series was not too bad for a made-for-tv vehicle. Bette Davis was outstanding, they were incredibly lucky to get her to star in this. The rest of the cast was average, except for Roseanna Arquette who was bland and completely useless. If I hadn't read the absolutely terrifying book "Harvest Home" first, I might have really enjoyed this series, but it was extremely dumbed down compared to Thomas Tryon's original tale. They even had to try and make the title scarier to attract interest. I wouldn't give the series more than a 6 out of 10, and Bette Davis earned all 6 of those stars--but for those who haven't read the book, this might not be so disappointing.