An unknown neurological disorder is sweeping the country, rendering adult men nearly immobile with joint stiffness and ultimately violent. Doctors are on the hunt for a cure for this strange phenomenon as local men are on the hunt for the victims themselves. These locals refer to the afflicted as “zombies” due to the appearance the disorder gives them and the fact that they become dangerous when it reaches a certain point. Writer/director Keith Wright’s debut film, Harold’s Going Stiff, explores this premise with both an absurdly humorous eye and an empathetic heart. The film recently won the award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2011 Austin Film Festival.

Harold is shot in a faux documentary style, but not of the gimmicky variety. When there are laughs, they are derived organically from the subjects. Interviews with doctors, patients, and local vigilantes are staged in a serious and straightforward manner. It is to the film’s credit that one can equally buy in to the footage of medical exams, zombie chases, and fake TV news reports alike.

Harold Gimble (Stan Rowe) was the first man to fall prey to what has been dubbed Onset Rigors Disease (ORD). He first realized his condition when his limbs became stiff while gardening and soon he was almost incapable of taking care of himself. While he has had the disease for longer than anyone else, he has yet to completely succumb to it like many others. He’s been subject to a number of medical exams to try to find out what the cause of ORD is. Gimble is a widower living alone, and thus Penny (Sarah Spencer) is sent from the Home Nursing Program to help him fight his condition. Penny and Harold soon develop a strong friendship. Harold is a loving father figure for Penny, and her outgoing, bubbly personality is the boon that he needs. Both are loners in their own way, and Wright builds their relationship in a subtle and believable way. As happens with fast friendships, we’re never sure where it’s headed next.

The three vigilantes that the film focuses on are Colin (Richard Harrison), Jon (Andy Pandini), Mike (Lee Thompson). The trio are a very watchable onscreen team, at turns funny, sympathetic, and repellent in their actions. It is worth noting that, prior to this film, Harrison had no formal acting experience. He is a good find and a real joy to watch on screen. The men spend their days roaming the countryside, tapped in to a police radio feed to keep themselves updated on the whereabouts of reported infected people. Their antics are the main source of comic relief in the film, though it’s clear from the way they talk to the faux documentary crew that they take their cause quite seriously. Colin is the protege and, more often, the punching bag of Jon and Mike. He is frequently the butt of their jokes and pranks as he learns the ways of “zombie” hunting. Although he has yet to score a kill himself, Colin is quite confident that he will be the one to take down Harold, who is seen as the grand prize. While the trio aren’t cruel people, this lust for a man who has yet to turn violent (and is currently suffering with a disease) reveals the disconnect they’ve created in their moral boundaries. One moving moment occurs when the three aggressively take down a local farmer with ORD. After killing him, they take his wallet and remark that “drinks are on him,” before finding a photo of the man’s son within. Jon remarks that the boy looks just like his own son. What could be a moment of revelation is only a fleeting thought, and he’s soon back to tracking and killing with zeal.

Harold’s fate remains uncertain until the final few minutes of the film. It’s easy to see why the Austin Film Festival jury were partial to this one, focused as that particular festival is on narrative structure and writing. The film’s climax brilliantly ties up all loose ends for its ensemble of characters without seeming at all forced. It feels instead like the ending for which they were all destined since the opening frames. Without giving anything away, these final scenes are at once funny, frightening, suspenseful and incredibly moving. One can only hope that Harold will find a home outside of its already successful festival run.

-Stephanie Huettner