Reviews & Ratings for
Harpya More at IMDbPro »

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Smart take on a Greek myth, 13 August 2002

Author: David Vanholsbeeck from Bruges, Belgium

I was impressed by this animated short. It had some very clever animation and provided an interesting take on a Greek myth. Can't remember the name, but I think it's about this man who tries to eat fruit from a tree, but every time he reaches for it, it gets eaten away by giant birds. That's his eternal punishment, kinda like Sysiphos, who rolls his rock up a mountain just to see it roll down every time he reaches the top. Finally found a short that I admired, and that had something to say too. 8/10

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Disturbing portrait, 10 June 2002

Author: ellkew from London

I saw this when I was very young and have never forgotten it. I recently unearthed it and was still very disturbed by it. It seems to have a direct affect on me and I find the harpya itself quite terrifying. Waiting for it to appear as the poor man is trying to escape is extremely tense and makes me feels very anxious. It is a disturbing portrait of how life has spiralled out of control for the protagonist and he is now kept trapped by this strange creature, forced to be subservient to it and pander to its hungry needs. A nightmarish film which has stayed with me for many years. As disturbing as The Vanishing(original) or Eraserhead but due to its length leaves a strong aftertaste that remains. Powerful stuff and unique.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Genuinely creepy, a masterpiece at its best!, 2 October 2005

Author: Stryde22 from Australia

I must say now that i rarely give any movie as high a rating as I've done here. I saw this short film on Eat Carpet in the middle of the night with a couple of friends and by the time it was finished we were so paranoid that our feet were tucked up on the couch with us. this short is absolutely brilliant. it uses a surreal texture drawn collage background with delayed-frame images in the foreground to create artistic and unsettling atmosphere. the harpy itself looks terrifying, especially when it feeds. the musical score fits brilliantly with the somewhat shocking messiness of the harpy's actions. the absence of words adds to the atmosphere. it is truly creepy there is honestly nothing that i can say is wrong with this film. it is perfect and is one of the only things I've seen that has actually truly creeped me out. i strongly recommend that anybody and everybody views this movie alone in the dark when u already feel insecure and uneasy. it is truly amazing!

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Short and Spooky Parable, 18 April 2010

Author: Robert J. Maxwell (rmax304823@yahoo.com) from Deming, New Mexico, USA

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This eight-minute animated short film has more atmosphere, more dread, than a dozen slasher movies put together. A man rescues a strange, bird-like creature who is being strangled on a public street. He takes it home.

The thing is a harpy, a woman with a bird's body, derived from Greek myths. It does only one thing -- snatching food out of human hands. Well -- this one is also capable of eating half its host, removing his body parts from the waist down.

The harpy comes to dominate its rescuer's life. He begins to starve, sneaks out the door, tries to disguise himself as a statue, and chows down on some pomme frites, but the creature finds him and snatches the tidbits from his hand.

Finally he attacks the harpy and begins to strangle it, just as its previous host had done, but a police officer runs up and bops the man on the head. We can only imagine what the police officer's life is going to be like, now that he's acquired this half-avian companion.

There is no eerie music, none of the usual accompaniments of the unearthly tale, but every scene takes place at night and, with two slight exceptions, no one else is present.

The original harpies were limited in their mischief to grabbing things out of your hands before you hand a chance to enjoy them, kind of like those long-tailed birds called "camp robbers" or like my ex wife, but in later tales they became vengeful, punishing those who had committed evil deeds, having been confused with the Eumenides or the Furies.

It's short, but it's effective too.

4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
short+animation+depth=a 10 out of 10 piece of work, 28 September 2001

Author: krebstar from istanbul

a man saves an "interesting" type of bird's life and takes it to his home. but the bird (or bird like human or whatever) slowly starts to ruin the man's freedom to eat or to go outside. all the food is eaten by the so called "bird" and while the man is trying to escape, bird eats his lower part of the body. with the help of a phonograph, he manages to escape from the house but cannot escape from his destiny.

this 9 minute masterpiece has used the animation techniques very smartly although it has been done in 1979. the idea was not explained with cliché techniques either. from the film I understood that a man who helps another might dig his own grave by doing this. cause the one whom you have helped may not help you back. besides he/she can even harm you. so I think this short film was arguing whether one should be individualistic or not (with a pessimistic view.

a must see for all short film and animation addicts.

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