Harbinger Down (2015) Hey what's up guys. Today I'll
show you a science-fiction Horror film: "Harbinger Down"! Spoiler ahead, watch out and take care!
The film begins in 1982 with an astronaut in a Soviet moon lander getting into flames,
as it rushes back to Earth. The scene then cuts to 2015, where two biology graduates,
Sadie and her best friend, Elle, join their Professor on an experimental tour to study
the effects of global warming on whales. Sadie's Grandpa takes them to the sea in
his commercial fish trawler, named Harbinger. Sadie informs the ship's crew about the purpose
of their visit, and after meeting the staff, Big G takes the researchers to their rooms
to sleep. However, Sadie and Elle set up the equipment first, when Grandpa calls Sadie to
the wheelhouse through the radio. Sadie meets Grandpa, and shares how strange it is to be
back at sea. Grandpa encourages her to helm the boat, but Sadie refuses, as she has lost her
nerve after losing her dad at sea. Later that night, Sadie wakes up as the
crew catches a load of crab. She checks the equipment, and detects whale activity in the area.
Sadie attempts to wake up Elle and Professor, but they are sound asleep, so she decides to
investigate independently. Thanks to the advanced sonar equipment, Sadie finds something large under
the ice that attracts the whales. Elle and Professor finally wake up,
as the crew helps recover the huge block of ice from the sea. Sadie informs them that the whales
were attracted to that piece of ice. They know it is not new ice, as the bluer the ice is, the older
it is. Elle films Professor as he talks about their research progress, while the crew destroys
the frozen mystery, revealing an old Soviet moon lander shown at the beginning of the film.
Professor excitedly claims ownership of the lander; but Grandpa disagrees, saying that the
Russians will want their ship back. However, Sadie points out that the lander is a property of a now
non-existent Soviet Union; therefore, maritime salvage law would give them rights. Grandpa
agrees and argues that it belongs to Sadie, before instructing everyone not to touch the lander until
they reach the Dutch Harbor. Professor attempts to complain, but Grandpa dismisses him.
The lander is kept under the compartment with their machinery, and everyone returns
inside as the weather worsens. As the night deepens, everyone disobeys the captain's
orders. The three of them go downstairs to freeze the crabs, while Grandpa informs the
Dutch Harbor about the piece of wreckage with human remains they have dredged.
On the other hand, Professor threatens to report Sadie to the university if she
doesn't give up the ownership of the lander. Bo walks in on them, and witnesses how Professor
belittles Sadie's abilities to handle such a significant discovery. As Professor walks away,
Bo tells Sadie that it's a matter of time before she's cut off from the research.
So he encourages Sadie to investigate the moon lander, before Professor can find a
way to claim ownership for himself. Bo asks Big G to distract Professor, which he does, allowing
Sadie and Bo to sneak. Sadie asks for help from a Russian crewmember named Vet, and she tells Sadie
that the Russians abandoned their moon mission in the 70s. This makes Sadie think that the Russians
must have discovered something during their moon mission, and kept it until the 80s.
Sadie removes the cosmonaut's helmet, and discovers that he died of an unknown
infection. She also takes a skin sample to further study, and analyze the infection. Meanwhile,
Professor realizes that he's been fooled around by Big G. So he storms out, goes to check the lander,
and becomes more pissed after learning that it has been examined by Sadie, not him. Meanwhile,
Sadie looks at the skin sample through the microscope, and discovers it's an organism called
"tardigrade," also known as a water bear. Meanwhile, Vet challenges Big G to a drinking
game; but that's not enough. So she mocks him, pissing Big G off and pushing him to fight her
physically. Vet fights back, not even bothered by the size difference between them. However,
Big G caresses the big scar on her face hidden by her hair, causing her to storm off. At this time,
a mechanic wakes up to the sound of metal breaking. He looks down
at his bed, and finds a weird creature. As he analyzes it, the creature suddenly spurts
out its GPS tentacles, traces and attacks him. On the other hand, Sadie informs her Grandpa about
the tardigrades, a hardy terrestrial life-form that can survive in extreme conditions. Professor
then enters the wheelhouse, and threatens Sadie a second time. He threatens to report Sadie's action
to the university, and destroy her career unless she hands over the ownership. Grandpa threatens
to take the matter to court; but Professor has more money than the Vatican, and has the best
lawyers. This leaves Sadie with no choice but to sign the ownership to Professor. Simultaneously,
Vet asks Elle's help to cover her scar with makeup. While covering Vet's scar, Elle asks about
its story. Vet shares that it's from a break-up, in which the guy was found in pieces.
Realizing the biohazard, they decide to medically seal the cargo hold, when they discover that the
cosmonaut's body is missing. Professor accuses Sadie of moving or hiding it, but she denies
the accusations. Bo steps in, and defends Sadie as well. Grandpa threatens to kill Professor,
as he becomes aggressive toward Sadie. After that, Grandpa wakes up the crew, and informs them
about the missing body of the cosmonaut. While everyone is arguing, Sadie follows Professor.
Sadie endures the cold weather on the deck to check in on Professor,
who's shivering and reddish from the itch. Sadie quickly returns inside, and informs them of
Professor's sickness when they hear his screams of pain. They rush outside, and find him topless and
frantic. They take him inside as he continues to shiver, but his body temp is burning.
Everyone backs away as several stalks sprout on his back, and spray the area with a strange dark
liquid. The liquid then forms solid matter, and goes into the drainage like it has life.
Sadie catches a small piece of that solid matter into a cup, and freezes it using liquid nitrogen.
Sadie holds back her tears, as she informs everyone that they have been contaminated.
So Grandpa decides to go to the Dutch Harbor as soon as possible, not minding the weather, as they
all need medical attention. Elle comes with Sadie as they run tests on the solid matter. They make
the liquid nitrogen portable, by putting it into a scuba tank and freezing Professor's body. Thanks
to their equipment, Elle and Sadie discover that the cosmic radiation has caused the tardigrade
to mutate, and become capable of shapeshifting. Grandpa and a crewman go to check on the mechanic;
instead, they find traces of blood on the floor and bent steel. But that's not all. The
tardigrade has now shapeshifted, and drops off the useless body of the cosmonaut. It attacks the man,
and despite Grandpa's desperate attempt to save him, the tardigrade kills him quickly.
Grandpa manages to escape the tardigrade, and informs everyone about the encounter. Sadie also
shares their discovery about the mutation of the tardigrade, adding to everyone's worry and fear.
While discussing their plan, the tardigrade cuts off the ships' power,
demonstrating high intelligence. Fortunately, they have a backup battery, which will not last
till morning. Sadie and Bo come with Grandpa and Big G to check the generator in the engine room,
only to find the tardigrade feeding off the crewman. Bo immediately freezes the
tardigrade when they hear screams. They go upstairs, and find a crew member
locked up in a cage above deck, while Vet tells them he's infected. Despite his futile attempt to
make everyone believe that Vet has gone crazy, the tentacle-like sprouts on his back throw him away.
Vet incinerates him using a flare gun. Everyone returns to the cargo hold, where
Sadie reveals the military communication gear inside Vet's bag. Since she's already caught,
Vet confesses that she's a Russian spy. She explains that tardigrades were part of the
Soviet experiment to create radiation-resistant cosmonauts. Since the whole ship is contaminated,
the Soviets do not want to reclaim the moon lander; but instead, they intend to sink it
after they pick up Vet with a submarine. Vet adds that she has planted explosives all
throughout the ship, and they will detonate 30 minutes after the submarine picks her up. While
held hostage, Sadie apologizes to her Grandpa for endangering the entire crew because of their
research. Grandpa also says sorry, and confesses to her that her grandma has been dead for a few
months due to pancreatic cancer. but Grandpa didn't tell anyone, because her grandma didn't
want the fuss. Grandpa adds that he carries her ashes whenever he's at sea, but cannot seem to
scatter them. As time passes, Sadie notices that the tardigrade is about to attack again,
by transforming itself into a liquid to enter the cargo hold using the tubes.
Sadie subtly points it out to the crew, which distracts Vet with questions. Once she's
back far enough, the tardigrade attacks her, causing Vet to lose her gun. Elle picks it up,
when the tardigrade grabs her and pulls her through a small pipe. Big G grabs Vet as
she makes her escape, and he asks where she planted the explosive. Vet refuses to tell,
until the tardigrade grabs her and drags her away. Left with no choice, the survivors must
find the explosives hidden throughout the ship. They divide into teams of two to save time.
They manage to find the two magnetic explosives, while they realize that Vet has planted the
remaining four in the bilge. It is a tight area that only a person of Sadie's size can enter. As
Sadie collects the explosive, the men discover that the tardigrades have consumed their latest
catch of two tons of crabs. They immediately warn Sadie, who realizes she's standing amid
the tardigrades. Sadie carefully walks back with the explosives, and escapes the tardigrades.
The men make their escape as the tardigrades destroy the bilge; but Sadie leaves the magnetic
explosives on the liquid nitrogen tanks before following them. However, they discover Grandpa
has been infected by the liquid splash on his face. He instructs Bo to keep Sadie away from him,
while he stays at the wheelhouse. Grandpa takes his wife's ashes to the deck, and finally scatters
them into the sea. After that, he orders Big G to restart the ship, and Sadie to pilot it.
As Big G follows the order, he's attacked by the tardigrades, and gets infected. Despite that,
Big G kills the tardigrade that attacked Vet, by throwing it into the meat grinder. Seconds after,
the explosives detonate; but before Bo can freeze Grandpa, the other tardigrades attack Grandpa,
and impale him. Despite that, Grandpa fights the tardigrade, and instructs Sadie to scuttle the
ship and save herself. After bidding the last goodbye, Sadie goes to the wheelhouse.
She steers the ship toward a vast iceberg, freezing the ship. She escapes after that with
the radio, and jumps off to a smaller iceberg, as the tardigrades burst through the deck.
Using the portable radio, Sadie contacts Dutch Harbor, tells them of an accident,
and reports that Harbinger is down. They alert her that a rescue helicopter is nearby. The film
ends with Sadie lying motionless on the ice as she hears the helicopter approaching.
This's Daniel CC movie channel! Stay safe and enjoy your day!