Seven years ago John Wakefield killed six people on Harper’s Island. Today in an attempt to clear the island’s reputation, young Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham) is bringing his bride-to-be, the wealthy heiress Trish Wellington (Katie Cassidy) and their bridal party complete with guests back to his childhood home. He thinks Harper’s Island has dispelled the shadow cast by Wakefield’s murders, but Henry is tragically mistaken.
What could be more romantic? A local boy from Harper’s Island is marrying the girl of his dreams, who just happens to be very rich as well as very beautiful. Coming home to the Island for the wedding and festivities seems to be the ultimate in a real life fairy tale.
Like those legends and stories of old, this fairy tale has hidden evil that is out to make tragedy rule over any chance of happiness. One by one the bridal party and guests are pulled into the influence of this evil, and secrets are revealed, relationships strained and lives are lost in gruesome murders.
Henry’s childhood friend Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy) returns for the wedding, for her first visit back since her mother was found to be one of Wakefield’s victims. Although her friends are still there, Abby feels like a stranger on Harper’s Island, and struggles with the emotions of fear and sorrow, as well as from her long-standing attachment to Henry.
This Gothic horror tale is filmed in and around Vancouver with gorgeous scenery as the backdrop. Equally as beautiful are the actors and actresses that were chosen for the roles. Viewers learn each character’s story, feeling either sympathy or revulsion, and sometimes both, and then the character is murdered.
The story reminds one of Agatha Christie’s classic novel “And Then There Were None” (twice made into a film called “Ten Little Indians”) but with the horror element ramped up to a high degree, and with those moments of humor that make the terror so intense. There is so much plot development going on, the first few horrific murders catch one by surprise.
However, the ambience of the scene soon has the viewer expecting something awful to happen…..and it does, in full gory detail.
Harper’s Island is presented on four discs containing all thirteen episodes and a variety of bonus features. The running time is a little over nine hours. Each disc has special features which include the CBS Network On-Air Promos, commentaries on Selected Episodes, featurettes “Casting Harper’s Island” which takes a look at the process in which the cast was chosen, “One By One the Making of Harper’s Island” which not only gives behind the scenes looks at the filming, but also in-depth views and explanations of the special effects used to create the murders and gore.
“Guess Who?” takes a look at how the cast and crew maintain the mystery of who is doing the killing. Everyone has their theory of who the “bad” guy or girl will be….until the very end.
“The Grim Reaper” tells how each character’s death was staged. No one knew exactly when they were to die in the script, and so each character was told a couple of days ahead of time. There are also the Harper’s Globe webisodes, and deleted scenes.
Having this series complete on DVD may be the best way to watch it, as you can see episodes back to back and remember the clues. If it is a second or more viewing for the audience, the production values are there to be appreciated, and of course the commentaries to hear, and the deleted scenes to view.
Harper’s Island: The DVD Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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