Harper’s Island (CBS 2009, Elaine Cassidy, Harry Hamlin)

Offering up an entertaining twist on the Agatha Christie meets Halloween style format Harper’s Island follows Trish Wellington and Henry Dunn who are about to start a week long celebration on the Island of the title leading up to their wedding. Harpers was the scene of a series of unsolved murders some seven years before and as the guests arrive on the island to begin preperations for the wedding it seems the murderer is back in business. Before you know the wedding guests are being bumped off.

High on production values and strong on gore Harper’s Island tunes into the whole slasher genre and made with a knowing eye on both the modern and the traditional. There is a great conceit with the episode titles (Thwack, Gasp etc) being named after the way the victim of the week dies and wisely the production team kept all of the cast on their toes by not revealing until the day of the shoot just who was next in line.

The real life island featured in the show is in fact Bowen Island in British Columbia.

production details
USA / CBS / 13×45 minutes / Broadcast 9 April – 11 July 2009

Creator: Ari Schlossberg / Executive Producers: Jeffrey Bell, Ari Schlossberg and Jon Turteltaub

cast
ELAINE CASSIDY as Abby Mills
CHRISTOPHER GORHAM as Henry Dunn
HARRY HAMLIN as Uncle Marty
KATIE CASSIDY as Trish Wellington
RICHARD BURGI as Thomas Wellington
MATT BARR as Christopher “Sully” Sullivan
VICTOR WEBSTER as Hunter Jennings
GINA HOLDEN as Shea Allen
CJ THOMASON as Jimmy Mance
CASSANDRA SAWTELL as Madison Allen
ADAM CAMPBELL as Cal Vandeusen
JIM BEAVER as Sheriff Charlie Mills
SARAH SMYTH as Lucy
CLAUDETTE MINK as Katherine Wellington
DAVID LEWIS as Richard Allen